Aberdeen City Council has denied claims its “city only” policy at their Reuse Shop is “discriminatory” against residents of Aberdeenshire.
The store, which is at the council-owned Hazlehead Household Waste and Recycling Centre (HWRC), opened in July and is open seven days a week.
Operated by Suez, the shop was established with funding from the Scottish Government’s recycling improvement fund, which aims to improve recycling infrastructure across the country.
Its aim is to contribute to the council’s and Suez‘s goals to reduce waste by increasing the reuse of materials that are dropped off at the centre and would otherwise have been disposed of.
As well as selling good quality, pre-loved items, much of the shop’s interior and its exterior “living wall” have been made with reused items, such as reclaimed shelves and pallets.
If successful, it is hoped additional shops may be opened at other sites in the city to build a network of reuse opportunities across Aberdeen.
‘People from outside of town don’t get the chance to use it’
However, only residents of Aberdeen City can visit and buy items from the shop, therefore excluding those from outside the Granite City.
An elderly couple, who did not want to be named, spoke of their shock at this policy and described what happened when they visited the centre.
The man said: “As you go into the recycling centre there’s somebody asking for proof of identity to use the site and see if you’re from Aberdeen. People from outside of town don’t get the chance to use it.”
Even if people do not have any waste or recycling to drop off, they are still asked to show a proof of address in order to visit the shop, meaning residents from Aberdeenshire cannot use it, a policy the woman described as “not fair”.
She added: “They shouldn’t prevent anyone from anywhere from going to a shop. I don’t think they realise they’re banning folk from outside the city walls to go into the shop in the first place. It’s just scandalous”.
After Covid-19 restrictions were eased in June 2020, Aberdeen City Council reopened their household waste and recycling centres for the public to use, with the showing of proof of address in Aberdeen becoming a requirement for people to use them.
The man said he understands why the council needs to see people’s addresses for the purposes of disposing of waste and recycling, but asks: “Why do you have to approve your address if you’re just going into the shop?”
Policy defended
An Aberdeen City Council spokeswoman said: “Access to Aberdeen’s HWRCs was restricted to city residents when the centres opened again following the initial Covid restrictions. This approach was mirrored across the country and reflected the prevailing Covid restrictions at the time.
“Since the relaxing of Covid restrictions, local authorities including Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen City have continued to restrict access to facilities to their own residents. In doing this, each authority can be confident that it is managing the waste produced by its own residents.
“We encourage all residents, wherever they are, to consider donating items for reuse or consider buying pre-loved items rather than buying new. There are many reuse opportunities across the north-east and more information can be found on Aberdeenshire Council’s website as well as Circular Communities Scotland.”
Conversation