Sixty-three residents of Merton, saw the arrival of a free one-day bulky waste service, given the weather on Saturday 1 April, for their opportunity to dispose of their unwanted possessions formerly clogging up their garages, sheds and lofts.

The Bulky Waste collection, which was situated at the Pincott Road Community Centre, South Wimbledon between Merton High Street and High Path welcomed local residents and their unwanted possessions such as old furniture, mattresses and white goods (e.g. washing machines). The Council sorted the unwanted items to identify what could be reused or recycled and therefore reduce the amount that needed to be disposed of as general rubbish at landfills.

The aim of providing this service was to help people who cannot get to the borough’s two reuse and recycling centres at Garth Road and Weir Road to be able to dispose of their bulky waste easily and conveniently and in turn to discourage people from using illegal disposal companies, who are responsible for a lot of the fly-tipping in the borough.

The event went successfully and Alison Broom, Merton Council’s Head of Street Management, said ” Residents brought a range of items including video machines, cookers, furniture, children’s toys and bikes plus green waste. We will make sure that as much of this as possible is recycled or composted. Working together like this the community and the Council can both reduce the amount of waste going to land fill and the risk of fly tipping in the borough. Thank you to everyone who participated. We will be offering this service on a pilot basis throughout the summer – look out for information in the press and our web site for details of where and when”.