Multiple occasions of tardy opening of the gates at the Recycling Centre at Sunnyside is raising the ire of ratepayers who are being forced to hang around or return another time to offload their rubbish.
Dodge Landers said he was there well after 10am one recent Wednesday morning biding time along with a number of residents waiting to access the centre and then get on with their day.
“It’s a lovely spot to spend 30 minutes, looking at the rubbish.”
READ MORE: Tenterfield Community Recycling Centre opens
He said multiple calls to council failed to draw out anyone with a key until 10.37am. Meanwhile a council employee on a slasher sat idly for 20 minutes unable to gain access to slash the interior of site, and three tradies who had come to dump rubbish just drove away, unable to wait.
Mr Landers feels whoever is responsible for opening up the centre should arrive well ahead of time so that the gates are open and the centre ready for receivals at the designated time.
“We’re paying the wages of that council employee who sat around on the slasher, and the rest of us want to dump our rubbish and get on with the rest of what we have to do.
“It’s just a shemozzle. Council couldn’t run a brothel for the US Navy.”
While it was the only occasion Mr Landers had been held up at the Recycling Centre, some of those keeping him company during the wait said it had happened two or three times, with threats to not pay their waste transfer rates if they can’t access the service as advertised.
Council’s chief operating officer Andre Kompler said he understands there was a delay to opening the Recycling Centre on three occasions on account of staff sickness and the need to reallocate the limited staff that council has for this part of its business.
“Thankfully we have an understanding community and for a great majority of the time council service is fine,” he said.
