A row over waste and recycling in Stockton has intensified after a study found the town was the third most wasteful area in the country.
Stockton came third on the list – behind Middlesbrough in second and the Isles of Scilly first. This has prompted more anger and criticism from Labour-led Stockton Council’s Conservative opposition, with calls for the council to “desperately get its act together”, for new waste containers and more convenient, accessible recycling.
The council’s leadership responded, saying claims that its new policies would increase flytipping were “scaremongering”. They maintain they are confident changes this year and next year will improve matters and say these were agreed after taking views from all political parties including Conservative councillors.
Rubbish removal company Hippo Waste analysed 2022-23 data from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). It found the council sent 25.2% of household waste to recycling, with an average of 415.3kg of household waste collected per person, which the Conservatives say highlights the council’s “woeful record”.
The town’s low ranking for recycling, said to be the lowest on Teesside and one of the lowest nationally in 2022-3, had already been discussed in a review by the council’s place select committee. The committee, which has four Conservative members, unanimously recommended collecting non-recycled rubbish fortnightly and dry recycling weekly, swapping the current arrangements, along with a review of green waste collections.
The council decided to follow the recommendations from April 2026, with weekly food waste collections to follow new laws. They will also charge £40 a year for fortnightly green waste collection from April this year, which it said was in line with most councils, along with closing five recycling centres and borrowing £3.3m for new bins, containers and a waste transfer station.
The Conservatives opposed the changes, which Stockton West MP Mr Vickers branded a “flytippers’ charter” making it harder for people to get rid of waste. The council said closing the recycling centres would prevent flytipping as they had attracted anti-social behaviour.
Mr Vickers said: “It is deeply worrying to see once again Stockton’s Labour-run council ranked as one of the most wasteful areas in the country. The current recycling rate of just 25.2% is far below the standards we should expect from our local authority.
“I’ve already warned that the changes to bin collection made by Stockton Council, alongside closing recycling centres and charging for green bins could see us become the fly-tipping capital of the country. This damning report just highlights the need for the Labour council to desperately get its act together.”
Councillor Tony Riordan, Conservative group leader for Stockton, said: “This Labour-led council and all those who prop them up should hang their heads in shame. Our residents are being taxed to the hilt to pay these new services, and the council can’t even get recycling right. Residents are rightly fed up with this incompetent council. It’s time to throw this Labour-led administration on the rubbish pile and allow us to forge ahead with building a council that focuses on the priorities of local residents.”
Asked how the Conservatives would do things differently, Cllr Riordan said: “With almost every council in the country doing a better job it wouldn’t be difficult for our Labour council to learn lessons from others. For instance, ourselves and residents have been telling the council about the need to change the ridiculous recycling receptacles – bags that blow away down the road as soon as they’re emptied.
“They’re now closing four local recycling centres which will make the problem worse still. We need new receptacles and to make recycling more accessible and convenient rather than less.
“People shouldn’t have to drive to another town in order to recycle. We would review and fully consult with residents on the best way to deal with this issue and look at best practice for what actually works rather than lurch from bad policy to bad policy like Labour.”
‘A range of views’
In response, Cllr Clare Besford, cabinet member for environment and transport, said: “Our low recycling rates remain an area of concern for us and we have proactively worked with councillors, officers and industry experts to agree the best way to improve our recycling rates. Last year a cross-party committee looked at how we manage our household waste and recycling and we are making significant changes which takes into consideration views and recommendations from all political parties.
“A move to weekly recycling collections will start in April 2026 which will include food waste collections. I am confident that this, combined with a move to a fortnightly residual waste collection, will see our recycling rates improve.
“I’d be surprised if there is a single councillor that hasn’t received a complaint about our recycling bags which is why we were keen to ensure that all councillors were able to feed into the decision on what receptacles we use. There was a range of views across all parties with options presented including bags, boxes and bins.
“However, the majority that took part in the discussion agreed that bags and boxes were the best option in terms of convenience, kerb appeal and reducing contamination rates. I have long advocated for a change to our receptacles and it was important to me that we address the issue of the bags potentially blowing away in the wind and am pleased that we are doubling the weight of the bag to address this issue.
“As for Cllr Riordan’s criticism of the policy, several of his own Conservative councillors were involved in the scrutiny committee that developed and recommended these policy changes to cabinet. Matt Vickers MP refers to the closure of the community recycling centres, which we refer to as bring sites, and scaremongers with the suggestion that this will lead to an increase in flytipping.
“However, our experience tells us that one of the biggest issues with these sites is the amount of manhours involved in clearing away flytipped rubbish that is dumped at the site rather than in the recycling bins. We had to close the site in Ingleby Barwick back in March after it was victim to an arson attack and the more recent closure of the remaining sites show no significant increase in flytipping.
“As a Labour-led council, we remain committed to the changes to our waste and recycling policy and look forward to seeing the positive impact these changes to our waste and recycling policy will have.”
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