Changes to Borders recycling centres' opening hours spark outcry

Hawick's recycling centre in Mansfield Road.

A heated exchange was initiated by Walkerburn community councillor Mary Daykin after she asked Scottish Borders Council leader Shona Haslam about the planned closures at Eshiels recycling centre during last week’s meeting of the authority’s Tweeddale area partnership.

Ms Daykin said: “I’m really wondering when we’ll know more as I’m very distressed about this issue with the recycling centres.

“I’m now reading that each one in turn will be shut for one day a week.

“We’re talking about quality of life tonight. We already have a very poor percentage of recycling, and fly-tipping is increasing all the time.

“That won’t improve our quality of life in this beautiful part of Scotland. How can we help, what can we do and how can we stop this cut?”

Tweeddale East councillor Mrs Haslam explained: “We did a massive consultation with the public, who said they don’t mind it closing one day a week as long as there are longer opening hours during the summer.

“There’s been a huge amount of data that I’m happy to share with people, looking at traffic movement coming in and out of the recycling centres, so we’re basing which day of the week it’ll close on which days of the week people use the recycling centres.”

Before she could explain further, however, councillor Haslam was interrupted by fellow Tweeddale East councillor Stuart Bell, leader of the local authority’s Scottish National Party opposition group.