Electronic recycle centre set to close

While Peterborough City Council would not confirm the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Re-Use facility in Fengate is set to close, The Peterborough Telegraph understands the three staff and volunteers have been told the site will shut at the beginning of 2019.

Residents are current;y able to take old electrical items to the centre, which can be repaired and sold on. The centre also receives items from Hotpoint that are not suitable for sale in shops, but can be repaired.

In February, the council said it would stop running the facility, but they were ‘confident’ it would be taken over by a charitable group. However, no group has come forward.

The council said the closure would save the authority £20,000 in 2018/19 then £39,000 in future years.

Today, a spokesperson for Peterborough City Council said: “As highlighted in our medium term financial strategy, we are considering future options for the WEEE facility and expect to make an announcement on this shortly.”

The council could not confirm if staff had been told not to accept items from residents ahead of the closure.

Councillor Shaz Nawaz, leader of the Labour group on Peterborough City Council said: “For a city that’s supposed to be environment capital and committed to the principles of a Circular Economy, this is a shocking, retrograde step. Closing the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment facility is a short-sighted mistake; it also makes the claim that Peterborough is an environmental capital laughable at best”