Council says only visit recycling centres if absolutely necessary

With countywide waste services nearly back to normal across Buckinghamshire during the current pandemic, council bosses are asking residents to only make trips to the five recycling centres currently open if it’s absolutely essential they dispose of rubbish.

And with another bank holiday weekend approaching, sites are expected to be even busier than they have been. Since the five sites reopened two weeks ago more than 30,000 visits have already been made.

With garden waste and bulky waste collection back, alongside general waste and most recycling collections, Buckinghamshire Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change, Bill Chapple OBE said he hoped people would only use the household waste sites if they absolutely have to.

“Things have gone really well since we took a lead and reopened five of our nine recycling centres, however they have been busy and long queues have formed, particularly before sites have opened in the morning.

“What people might not realise is that while sites are open, the social distancing measures we’ve had to install have reduced the number of people that can visit at one time. We have made some tweaks on-site to improve things where we can, however it is still leading to long waits at busy times.

“My plea to residents is to only visit sites if their waste cannot safely be stored at home or by using the kerbside collections. Much of what we are seeing coming in is green waste, which is understandable as people focus on their gardens, trees and plants, however it may not require an essential trip. If you can continue to store or compost at home please do. Obviously, now that garden bin collections have restarted, that also gives residents extra capacity as an alternative to venturing out to a waste site.”

The council say that queues at some sites have been in excess of an hour so offers the following advice:

• make only essential trips to waste sites for the time being.
• check the council website in advance.
• Use the garden and bulky waste collections where possible as they restarted on 11th May.
• Bring proof of address as some non-Buckinghamshire residents have been turned away.
• Try not to make repeat trips to give everyone a chance to visit.

Bill added, “To provide extra capacity, we are also planning to have our remaining four sites at Langley, Burnham, Chesham and Rabans Lane, Aylesbury back open from 29th May. Further details will be announced next week as these sites will need additional changes to ensure social distancing and traffic safety.

“I thought it was important to mention this now so people know that other and possibly closer sites will be opening soon. So if you can delay going for a little while longer and wait for these additional sites to reopen, that will help take the pressure off the current sites we have open.

“Can I also add my continuing thanks to all the Buckinghamshire Council staff, together with staff from our site operators, FCC Environment and to residents visiting for their continued patience and understanding.”

For further information on all waste services, please visit the Council’s website – https://www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/coronavirus/service-changes/coronavirus-waste-services-all-districts/