DUNDEE CITY Council is £250,000 over budget in environment spending for 2013-14 despite closing recycling services to cut costs.
It has been suggested the closure of the Marchbanks centre last year has had an impact on recycling services.
A report due to go to the council next week blamed the overspend on reduced income from refuse collection and increased transport costs due to the review of recycling centre operations.
Income from the sale of scrap metals, glass, paper and other recyclable materials was expected to be lower than budgeted for.
Labour’s environmental spokesman Richard McCready, who was critical of the Marchbanks closure, said the overspend was concerning.
“It’s something that needs to be looked at,” he said. “I think changes to the recycling centres and the closure of Marchbanks caused problems from day one. I do not think it was a decision that was well thought out by the council.”
Marchbanks was closed in April last year to make savings of more than £300,000 a year.
In December council leader Ken Guild said the department was on track to save £264,000 in the 2013-14 financial year.
However, nearly 1,800 people asked for bins to hold their garden waste during the five months after the closure, costing the council between £32,000 and £43,000.
The council still runs recycling centres at Baldovie and Riverside.
Overall, the council is projecting a £50,000 underspend for the general fund services budget in 2013-14.
The overspend in the environment department will be offset by funding from the council’s general contingency fund.
Environment convener Craig Melville said the lack of income from recyclables was more down to market prices than the closure of Marchbanks.
“The decision to close Marchbanks was taken in the context of the council having to save millions of pounds in that year’s budget, and we have more savings to make this year,” he said.