A supermarket in Ecclesfield, Sheffield, has been inundated with litter in its car park after the
removal of recycling bins.
“Davidoffdaftum”, a 44-year-old TikTok user and frequent Morrisons shopper said: “There’s
rats everywhere playing in the rubbish, it looks appalling and it’s so unsanitary.
“It’s just irresponsible people. There’s no excuse for leaving rubbish as there are waste
disposal sites nearby, and the amount that’s been left has obviously been brought by
vehicles. It’s just laziness.”
He added that the rubbish is being left opposite a police station, suggesting that the
installation of CCTV cameras could be used to identify offenders.
Waste management at the store, and other supermarkets across the city, has been delayed
by ongoing industrial action within waste collection company Veolia.
Sheffield Friends of the Earth, an environmental group in the city, said the situation
“highlights the precarious nature of recycling in Sheffield, which is way behind other local
authorities in many respects.”
Limited roadside collection services that do not accept lower-grade plastics, restricted
operating hours at recycling centres, and accessibility challenges are amongst the pressing
issues identified by the group.
Steve Bishop, 59, who frequents the store, said: “If people weren’t so filthy, throwing rubbish
about, it could be kept nice.
“The ‘temporarily closed’ sign for the recycling site has been there for months, but the
problem with people leaving rubbish like this has been ongoing for about ten years. It says
there’s CCTV in operation, but there isn’t.”
Dianna Johnson, 64, works in customer service at the store, and confirmed that the recycling
area was shut down permanently due to “environmental concerns”, despite a sign stating it
was a temporary closure.
“It’s not just Morrisons, it’s a wider issue,” she said.
Whilst the majority of the litter was removed, bags of rubbish and pieces of discarded
furniture remain, underscoring the health risks posed by the lingering waste and the rodents
it’s attracting.
The lack of accessible and consistent waste disposal options, combined with irresponsible
dumping from the public, has left residents and local businesses to deal with the
consequences.