To wish they'd reopen the recycling centers?

[feelinguseless78]

They closed the tips at the start of lockdown and fly tipping and bonfires have gone up massively in our area as a result.

I appreciate that they constitute a non essential journey to use them, but I feel they're the lesser evil!

AIBU?

YABU - they should remain closed
YANBU - yes they should reopen

I'm not sure why they need to open though, garden waste goes in the garden bin and the rest is collected with regular household waste.

No garden waste collection here as it's been suspended, and some people have gone a month without their recycling being collected too.

They're also trying to persuade people to go a month in between black bin collections - though how that will work with entire families at home 24/7 is beyond me!

@yatapina Ah, that's not on. If it were up to me I would have someone there taking photos of the car number plates of abusive or rule breaking visitors and they would get a fixed penalty fine.

Tips are part of my logistics chain and I've been talking to several councils about plans for re-opening.

The thing is, government says they are NON-ESSENTIAL. As a result, they closed. Fly-tipping has always happened because some people are just low dregs, there's no excuse.

Because of the low dregs, councils have to still carry out fly-tipping collections and are having to take them to their sites but the sites are not open to members of the public.

I can't wait for the police to start prosecuting and heavily fining those scum who fly-tip; we all pay for them.

They stopped taking our recycling bags at the start of the lockdown in my area, but carried on with the black bags!
Trouble is, we would only put 2 black bags out every 2 weeks and we would pit out 4 to 5 recycling bags

@Buttermuffin, they have CCTV and the police are regularly involved in scuffles there. DH was grabbed and threatened just before lockdown because he wouldn't let a guy cut in front of others.

Unfortunately people don't seem to care.

I agree OP.
I live near a facility- I can't see the risk involved.

It is a drive through - pull up near skips- Cardboard/garden waste/plastic etc. Cars pull up, dump waste and drive off.
A few staff are at the depot but usually at least 40 meteres away

My local facebook page is full of pics of flytippers.

People shouldn't be doing jobs that create so much waste they cant get rid of or store appropriately.

That sounds a bit 'I'm all right, Jack'.

Aside from essential house maintenance and building repairs, what happens when people's washing machines, fridges or beds give up the ghost or collapse? We're managing fine at the moment - our garden waste bin collections have been suspended, but we've got some tough outside storage trunks to use as satellites (they'd better be willing to take extra bags once they do start collecting again), and we're gathering a 'ready for the tip' pile around the small passageway at the back of our house; but most people who live in flats don't have any outside storage space whatsoever. Apart from possibly a tiny balcony, their own private property ends the instant they step outside their front door. Given that flats tend to be on the small side anyway, exactly how are they meant to store a broken old washing machine or bed as well as the new one?

I like to think that now we are “used” to the distancing rules people would be respectful if the tips re-opened. Our local one is only staffed by 2 people at a time and they were never allowed to help lift things / take things out of the boot.
Although I get the “non-essential travel” argument, I also think that we have the most chance of securing ongoing, long term compliance if we make it relatively easy for people to tolerate. And tips/ recycling centres seem to me to be one of the “easy wins” in terms of a low risk set up. Very easy to allow only 3 cars in at once into bays more than 2 m apart; way easier to manage than supermarkets.

Yes because we ALL have gardens and sheds and spare rooms to store broken down fridges and TV's in, don't we? So many people are unable to see beyond their own circumstances.
Hormonal and in lock down .

Have you looked on Nextdoor for your area... we have a couple of licensed waste collectors who are taking stuff away for people at a small cost (and following the social distancing rules) as the waste transfer stations are still open - just do your research and ask to see their licence... ours emailed his over and I checked it on the site

I like to think that now we are “used” to the distancing rules people would be respectful if the tips re-opened.

You have a lot more faith in people

@LyingWitchInTheWardrobe I don;t think they have been deemed non-essential, it was a grey area and of course the councils closed them to save money. I suspect they'll be no rebate on the council tax this year.

We have no garden waste service and the recycling collection has been sporadic. There's no excuse to not have them open.

Yes definitely agree. Our garden waste collections haven't taken place for six weeks now. Our bins are overflowing with all the grass cutting.

We do have paper recycling skips at Sainsbury's so we have been using them.

There's a useful document here issued by the government on the services councils should be maintaining as part of their waste disposal responsibilities. www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-advice-to-local-authorities-on-prioritising-waste-collections/guidance-on-prioritising-waste-collection-services-during-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic

Food waste should absolutely still be being collected (if you're in England).

WeBuilltThisCity, all retailers offer a take-back solution so they'll pick up your old appliance when they deliver your new one. It's costs about £30 (AO). We had to do this two weeks ago.

If you buy one from non-retail sources then you just have to hang on to it until the sites re-open.

I agree, it’s outdoors and easy to police in terms of social distancing.

@underneaththeash they haven't been closed to save money. The workers are still working in different areas across the council and need to be paid just like everyone else.

All our waste collections are taking place as normal.

underneaththeash, they have, that's why they were closed. The guidance out now isn't definitive and isn't sufficient to compel councils to open them.

It's caused huge ripples across the whole wastes management infrastructure.

if you can't store your waste until they reopen then you shouldn't be doing those jobs

Unfortunately the garden won't stop growing! Our brown bin is still being collected fortnightly (it's a paid for extra service) but at this time of year, apart from grass clippings and weeds, there's a heck of a lot of pruning, far more than a bin full every two weeks. We had to get rid of our compost bin a few years ago - on the advice of the council vermin control guy - because of rats in the area. Obviously I'm making a heap in a corner but I don't think dogwood and ivy are going to rot down well.

So while I can understand from the PP above why the dumps are closed, it would be good if a way could be found to reopen them.

I'd also like to say thanks to all the council workers collecting and managing refuse.

what do you do with things like electrical items that are broken?

Depends what they are. If they’re small enough I’ll stick them in the bin. Who cares and who can track you down really

I hope I've misunderstood you there - surely you aren't saying that you'd just fly-tip anything that doesn't fit in your bin? Especially as, without a vehicle, you'd have to choose somewhere very close to your own home to do it. I think you'd be extremely easy to track down if you could only dump an old washing machine as far away as you could carry it.

Owning (or having access to) a vehicle doesn't organically mean that you create more waste. Vehicles are needed for delivering new goods and for getting rid of the old ones - that's just a simple fact - whether it's your own car, friend's car, taxi, bin lorry, hired van, rubbish removal company (and make sure it's a legitimate one who can show you their waste licence - that's if they're allowed to tip stuff at the moment).

@Greenpop21 it's not easy at all.

This is bringing out the worst in people, the rules don't apply to them.

We are very lucky as our council is still collecting all our waste including garden but I still think the tip should open. In the briefing today it said that councils were getting extra money from the government and rubbish collection was mentioned so perhaps some councils should reinstate these services with the extra funding as rubbish was specifically mentioned

At my tip it would be easy. It’s very well set out and could be marked up to distance people.

Electrical items are WEEE and don't belong in the bin, they have to be dismantled. It's the law.