A Tesco in Millhouses has come under fire after announcing they will be closing their recycling centre from March 22.
The decision to close the recycling centre comes despite the news that £500,000 will be invested into a Street Clean Enforcement to remove litter and vermin in Sheffield.
The Budget, passed last Wednesday, also provided £281,000 to extend the opening times of household waste recycling centres to seven days a week.
But a 22-year-old Click and Collect Customer Assistant at the store, said the store had closed the recycling centre due to fly tipping around the bins which had cost Tesco money to clean.
He said: “People just dump anything here, we’ve had bathtubs, toilets, sinks and doors. When all the dump sites were closed in lockdown, people left their rubbish here.
“It looks bad for the customers when they come into the store and its safer to get rid of the recycling centre to prevent people leaving all their waste here.”
A Tesco spokesperson said: “We’ve taken the decision to remove some of the recycling facilities at our Sheffield Abbeydale store where they are already provided by the local authorities.
“This is partly in response to complaints of litter and fly tipping in the store car park around the recycling area.”
Daniel Perrins, 39, a Tesco worker, was surprised by the decision to remove the recycling centre.
He said: “It’s a bit of a shock to me, it’s going to be a nuisance. I like to take my rubbish here and I use the bins frequently, at least once a week.
“I don’t really want to have to go to Sainsbury’s to put my recycling in their bins when we’ve got a perfectly good recycling centre right here.”
Julie Gay, 61, a volunteer for Sheffield Litter Pickers, said Tesco have the finances to help waste management in Sheffield.
She said: “I’m worried about people fly tipping their rubbish because there are not enough recycling facilities to deal with the loss of the recycling centre at a local community level.
“I feel that Tesco as a big multinational company with big profits should be doing more for the environment.”
No plans have been announced to replace the recycling centre.
