Lancashire residents 'too reliant' on recycling sites
Lancashire has too many recycling centres, according to the leader of the county council as he defended the closures of four centres.
Geoff Driver, the Conservative council leader, said residents were too reliant on them and should make more use of their fortnightly collections.
He said: "If they use their facilities correctly, the need to go to recycling centres is greatly diminished."
Another county councillor said there was "strong opposition" to closures.
The closures are part of the authority's £179m budget cuts.
Mr Driver said: "We have to be realistic - we can't do everything.
"The recycling operation is totally different from what it was when they were opened.
"Most of it is already done on the doorstep and we don't need the number of recycling centres that we have."
Labour councillor Ciaran Wells, who represents Great Harwood, one of the four sites earmarked for closure alongside Colne, Garstang and Bacup, said there was "clearly a demand for it".
He is backing the campaign against closing the Great Harwood site.
Mr Wells said: "There was 3,350 tonnes of household waste recycled at Great Harwood alone last year so there clearly is a need for these sites.
"People rely on these centres and there is a lot of support county-wide for the campaign."
He said there were 1,300 signatures on a petition from Great Harwood and the surrounding area."
Wyre Borough Council is also supporting the campaign to save the centres.
Peter Murphy, Wyre Council cabinet member with responsibility for waste, said: "In the grand scheme of things it seems to be a small saving for an awful lot of inconvenience for an awful lot of people."
The county council said there would be final decision on which centres to close for a least three to four weeks.