Some of the fly-tipped rubbish on Cat Lane and in Carr Wood.

Council statistics on fly-tipping have revealed a damning indictment of Sheffield City Council’s waste strategy.

According to Council’s own figures, fly-tipping in parks and public spaces is set to almost treble next year.

The revelation comes as an embarrassment to Labour councillors who masterminded the changes to Sheffield City Council’s waste service. The new strategy has seen black bin collections move to fortnightly, the free collection of garden waste scrapped, and severe reductions in the opening hours of recycling centres.

Last month, Labour’s Cabinet Member for Waste was forced into a bruising apology after a failure to communicate the changes, which saw many residents miss their first collection.

Meanwhile, Lib Dem councillors have put forward a motion to today’s Council (Wed 3rd Oct, 2pm) meeting, calling for re-think of opening hours at Blackstock Road recycling centre.

Opposition Liberal Democrats claim users of the site have been treated unfairly, with the most popular site in the city closed for three days a week. The dramatic reduction in opening hours has seen car queues tail back along the road, causing serious concerns for road safety.

Despite the pressing demand on the issue, Labour councillors have decided to prioritise debates on national political spats over this vital local issue.

Cllr Joe Otten, Sheffield Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Parks, said:

“Protecting local parks and green spaces is a fundamental duty of the Council. However, Labour’s policy has seen residents dumping their waste all over these precious spaces.

“Anyone could tell you that Labour’s plan to ending weekly bin collections and cut recycling services at the same time was a recipe for disaster. Whilst fly-tipping is inexcusable in any circumstance, you can’t help feeling the Council is also to blame.”

Cllr Ian Auckland, local Liberal Democrat councillor for Graves Park, is proposing the motion regarding Blackstock Road. He said:

“Users of Blackstock Road have been treated unfairly by this Council. Despite being the most popular site, it’s seen the biggest reduction in opening hours. As a result, we’re now seeing our parks and green spaces littered with excess waste.

“Local residents are up in arms about this change but Labour councillors have decided they’d rather talk about national politics than the local issues that matter.”