Member Article

No Skip Sunday branded ‘rubbish idea’ by recycling experts Scott Bros

The organisers of new national awareness day ‘No Skip Sunday’ have been branded irresponsible by recycling experts Scott Bros - who say it will only encourage further fly tipping.

David Scott Jr, a director of the family-run firm, said the day - designed to highlight the need to save the planet’s resources, particularly around home improvements – is counterproductive, as responsible skip hire companies already ensure upwards of 90 per cent of skip contents are recycled and reused.

He said: “Discouraging the use of skips and equating them with damaging the environment is irresponsible and ill-conceived and could lead to a drop in the amount of material being recycled and an increase in fly tipping.”

Like many licensed skip hire companies, Scott Bros, which is based at Thornaby, near Stockton, collects its skips from the customer, which are then taken to its recycling facility. There, construction and excavation waste is converted into commercial aggregate, sand, and topsoil, while metals, cardboard, plastics, and wood – together with garden waste - are all sorted for repurposing.

David added: “We are all working towards expanding the circular economy by reusing materials and limiting the use of finite natural resources. No Skip Sunday infers that using a skip is somehow damaging to the planet, when the exact opposite is true.”

He said that the day would be better used to raise awareness of unauthorised carriers who simply collect waste from householders at a cut price rate before dumping it.

“I would actually urge people to act responsibly by using a skip service rather than a so-called ‘man in a van’,” he said. “Such people are often unlicensed and as such can’t use legitimate civic amenity sites, which means they just offload their waste it in the nearest back alley, green space, or farmland, causing even greater environmental harm.

“Anyone considering using such a service is advised to check first that the operator has a valid waste carriers’ licence and waste transfer note, otherwise they themselves risk being fined if the rubbish is traced back to them.

“No Skip Sunday is a rubbish idea! Those businesses and householders than hire skips can be assured their contents are disposed of correctly and in an environmentally responsible manner.”

No Skip Sunday, scheduled for March 28, says it is aimed to “remind us of the wastefulness which can accompany home improvements and, particularly, kitchen refurbishments”.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by News Gathering .