We always welcome a Letter to the Editor to share with our readers – unsurprisingly they don’t always reflect the views of this publication. If you have something you’d like to share, get in touch and of course, your considered comments are welcome below. This from Andy S-C. Ed
I am very disappointed to read, in a link from your piece about the new permit scheme for household waste, that the Council has decided to sneak in a ban on trailers over 1.8m from 5th June.
It’s very easy, after a weekend’s gardening, to have far more green waste than fits inside the car, and for me, a trailer is the only realistic option for removing the waste from hedges, trees and bushes, that my garden generates.
Three round trips nearly 50 miles
Yes, I could split it into multiple loads and take it a car-load at a time, but think of the carbon footprint! Three round trips to Lynnbottom from my house is nearly 50 miles. If we care about recycling and the earth’s resources, how can anyone argue that three trips is better than one with a trailer?
Although it takes longer to unload a trailer compared to a car, three trips (I estimate I can get about three times the volume in my trailer as I can inside the car), including queuing time, actually means my car would be at the recycling centre for longer in total than for one visit with the trailer.
Trailer bay seems to work well
I can see that a trailer temporarily obstructs several bays while it’s unloading, but there is already a trailer bay next to the skips at Lynnbottom, which seems to work very well. But maybe the Council could allocate a time, maybe first thing in the morning, or last thing at night, when trailers are welcome? Quite often when I visit Lynnbottom at those times, the place is pretty much empty, and my trailer causes no obstruction or delay to anyone.
Island-wide ban
Saying that trailers are not welcome at Afton Marsh or Lynnbottom makes it sound like it’s just those two that are imposing the trailer ban. But actually, that means there will be nowhere on the Island you can take a trailer-load of recycling material.
Urge decision to be reviewed
I feel very strongly that the Council needs to review this decision and find ways to accommodate those of us who rely on a trailer to efficiently transport our garden waste to the recycling centres such as Lynnbottom on the Island.
