“The young council staff at The Cutts are getting verbally abused by residents of Belfast who are saying things in a sectarian manner, because they are being knocked back from using the recycling centre.”
The temporary closure of a Belfast recycling centre has given rise to claims of sectarian abuse towards Lisburn and Castlereagh staff with the council to “take action”.
The alleged verbal attacks are said to be directed to employees of The Cutts Household Recycling Centre (HRC) in Dunmurry from Belfast residents being “knocked back” at the gates in cars loaded with waste materials.
Concerns over non-residents using another council’s recycling centre has seen battle lines drawn with those looking to dump waste having to show proof of address. If they are not from the council area, they can be refused entry.
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Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) Lisburn North SDLP councillor Pat Catney said: “I’m being told that Belfast ratepayers are going to Kennedy Way and they are being told to come up here to the dump at The Cutts, as the nearest recycling centre.
“The young council staff at The Cutts are getting verbally abused by residents of Belfast who are saying things in a sectarian manner, because they are being knocked back from using the recycling centre. It is right that the Belfast residents are being refused as they are not Lisburn and Castlereagh ratepayers.”
He added:”No one should have to take such abuse, especially for just doing their job.
“I would have no problem as a Lisburn councillor taking Belfast waste as long as they pay to use our recycling centres, just as our ratepayers do.”
Belfast City Council (BCC) has confirmed a closure of one of its recycling centres, which has seen its residents look to use other facilities.
A spokesperson for BCC said:”While Blackstaff recycling centre (located on Kennedy Way) is closed at the moment, Belfast residents are being advised to use our other council facilities instead, including the nearest civic amenity site at Springfield Avenue, and this information has been shared with site users across all our communications channel.”
BCC operates four recycling centres including Alexandra Park Avenue, Ormeau and Palmerston Road as well as two civic amenity centres at Springfield Road (Falls) and Agnes Street (Shankill).
Blackstaff has been closed since Oct 1 for repairs and is due to reopen on Nov 3.
Currently, Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council (LCCC) provides three household recycling centres (HRCs) in the district at ‘The Cutts’ Derriaghy; ‘Drumlough’ Hillsborough and Carryduff for a population of almost 130k.
A spokesperson for LCCC said: “We do not condone any abuse of our staff and will take action as appropriate to ensure their safety. “Access to our three HRCs is only for our residents.
“This has been the practice since 2020 and is in line with our statutory requirement as a local authority to safely dispose of our residents’ waste.
“To prioritise council services for residents, anyone using the centres may be asked to produce photographic ID on arrival, along with proof of address.
“If the photographic ID used does not show their address, they should also bring a recent utility bill.”
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