Huge piles of recycling waste left dumped in Sunderland supermarket car park

A shopper contacted the Echo after a visit to Sainsbury’s on Silksworth Lane earlier this week. The shopper noticed bags, boxes and loose rubbish strewn around the recycling skips at the supermarket.

A total of 13 recycling skips are available for use in the far side of the car park. They take cans, bottles, paper, cardboard, clothing and books. But they had been filled. With the skips filled, recycling was simply dumped around and on top of them, creating a considerable mess.

The shopper who contacted the Echo described the scene as “fly tipping on steroids”.

Last week Sunderland City Council chiefs told the Echo that fly tipping had increased since lockdown began on March 23. According to city bosses, the number of times they were alerted to dumped waste fell at the beginning of 2020.

But following the Government’s decision to impose strict social distancing rules to try and halt the spread of coronavirus, figures have begun to creep up once again.

According to city bosses, the number of times they were alerted to dumped waste fell at the beginning of 2020, before lockdown began.

A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said, “We are working to clear the area as quickly as possible and are sorry for any inconvenience caused.”

Since December 2017 the Echo has been running its Clean Streets campaign, encouraging the people of Sunderland to keep their city tidy.

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