Bizarre rules at a Fife recycling centre saw a woman forced to lift a tumble dryer from a trailer to her car before she was allowed to dump it.
Fiona Corps was admitted to the Pittenweem site with the trailer and disposed of all the other rubbish she had in it.
However, she was told she would have to book another slot to get rid of the tumble dryer because white goods aren’t allowed on trailers.
But when she then moved the dryer to her car boot, a staff member told her she could now dump it – but only if she unhooked the trailer first.
Fiona said: “I couldn’t believe what he was saying. I thought he was joking.
“I was only five paces away from the drop-off point and because it was in my trailer and not in the boot of my car, I couldn’t leave it.”
A controversial booking system is still in place at Fife recycling centres.
And although it is under review, current rules state materials brought in by trailer are limited to garden waste and landfill and that trailers must be pre-booked.
Fife Council said it understood Fiona’s frustration but said the rules were in place to protect staff and members of the public.
However, the incident has now prompted a call for the use of common sense.
Lifted the dryer from the trailer
Fiona, who lives in the East Neuk, admits she mistakenly did not register the use of the trailer when she booked but staff reluctantly let her in to the centre.
It was only when she asked if she should leave her dryer beside other white goods that things took a strange turn.
“I asked the member of staff what I was supposed to do with it if I couldn’t leave it there and he suggested that I should take it home again, put it into the boot of my car and book another slot to drop it off,” she said.
“So, I drove down to the landfill containers to dispose of my waste and decided to lift the dryer from the trailer while I was there and placed it in the boot of my car.
“As they lifted the gate to allow me to exit, I rolled down my window and said ‘the tumble dryer is now in my boot. If I detach the trailer from my car will you allow me to dispose of it?’
“And he said ‘yes, if you take your trailer off your car’.
Fiona added: “I detached my trailer from the car and lifted the dryer from the boot and placed it on the pavement beside the other white goods and reattached my trailer again.
“The member of staff went on to tell me that they were only open because of the amount of fly tipping in the area.”
Illegal dumping fears
North East Fife MP Wendy Chamberlain said such incidents encouraged illegal dumping.
“This is not the first time residents have told me they’ve had trouble accessing the recycling centre,” she said.
“The vast majority of people just want to drop off their recycling and are more than happy to follow the safety rules.
“There are no excuses for fly tipping but asking people to jump through hoops every time they want to recycle will only encourage more people to dump rubbish illegally.”
The Lib Dem MP added: “Staff at Pittenweem recycling centre have a difficult job to do and they must be allowed to use common sense to help people when the rules are clearly not working.”
Fife Council’s environment head Ken Gourlay confirmed the booking system and all other measures at recycling centres are being reviewed.
A plan for reopening will be discussed by councillors next month.
“These measures were put in place to protect our staff and members of the public and have been kept under close review as a the pandemic continues.
“The current access conditions at Pittenweem allow trailers in but with restricted waste streams which excludes white goods.
“This information is highlighted at the point of booking when selecting waste types.
“I’m pleased to see that a solution was found during the visit but can understand the frustration.”