Dorset Council has announced that 9 of its 10 household recycling centres (HRCs, or ‘the tip’) are set to open on Monday 11 May now that central government guidance on managing HRCs in England during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has been updated.
However, the government guidance puts strong restrictions on use to help reduce non-essential journeys. Householders should only take waste to a HRC if it cannot be stored safely at home and no alternative disposal options are available.
Visitors should also expect long queues to access HRCs due to social distancing measures limiting the amount of people we can have on site at any one time.
Whilst most sites will re-open on Monday 11 May, there will be restrictions on site, and additional security staff will help to enforce these, plus traffic management measures. All usual waste types will be accepted, although re-use areas will remain closed.
Most recycling centres will be open from 9am to 6pm daily, except Sherborne HRC which will remain closed due to highway safety concerns.
More planning is required to prevent queuing Sherborne HRC traffic disrupting bin collections by obstructing vehicles on the access roads. We hope to resolve this issue soon, but in the meantime residents in the Sherborne area are advised to use their nearest alternative HRC, either in Shaftesbury, Blandford or Dorchester.
To help reduce the need to travel to HRCs, householders should continue to maximise the use of their kerbside waste and recycling collection services. You can always put out additional recycling, glass and food waste at the kerbside provided it is separated properly and placed in sturdy containers that can be easily and comfortably lifted by one person.
Garden Waste service customers are reminded to continue using their kerbside bin for all their garden waste. We have also resumed signing up new customers to the Garden Waste service.
Bulky waste removal services are also expected to fully resume on Monday 11 May, so we urge those with large bulky items to contact the team in the first instance before considering a trip to a HRC.
Visitors will be accepted by vehicle only. There will be no pedestrian/cycle access for safety reasons.
Visitors are asked to note the following: –
- Journeys to a HRC must only be undertaken if essential and your waste or recycling cannot be stored at home safely or disposed of safely by other means. By this we mean the waste cannot be stored without causing risk of injury, health or harm. No other reason for the journey would be considered a legitimate purpose. If you can temporarily store your waste or recycling in a way that does not pose a risk to yours or others safety or human health, then you should continue to do so
- Do not assume that any HRC is open before setting off. Please check the appropriate pages on the Dorset Council website (NOT Google)
- Queues and waiting times to access each site will be much longer than usual, so expect significant delays. This is because there will be limits on the numbers of people that can be on site at any one time to maintain social distancing
- Do not arrive at the site early – This could stop staff getting to the HRC, hampering the removal of waste and delaying the opening of the site. It may also prevent local residents from getting to work
- You should not visit the HRC if you are unwell, as you should be following the 7-day self-isolation guidance, or if a member of your household is unwell and you should be following the 14 day stay at home guidance
- Visitors to HRCs must always observe social distancing. If you do not comply with social distancing guidance, you will be asked to leave the HRC and the site may have to close temporarily
- HRC staff will not be able to assist with carrying items. Do not take any items to the HRC that you can’t lift yourself, or with the aid of one other passenger from your vehicle
- If you do travel to a HRC, please remember to stay in your vehicle while queuing to aid with social distancing. Please do not leave your vehicle until it is necessary to get out
- Only one person should leave the vehicle to unload waste – a maximum of two if unloading heavy items
- Household waste should be double-bagged and left for 72 hours before being taken to a HRC, and only if it cannot be collected at the kerbside
- Although all usual waste and material types can be dropped off, please bring a maximum of two waste types per visit (e.g. garden waste and black bag waste)
- Reuse areas will remain closed in order to reduce item handling and ensure visitors spend no more time on site than is necessary
- Charges still apply for some waste types, but contactless payments only – no cash.
- On your return from the HRC please remember not to touch your face and to wash your hands for 20 seconds on arrival at your destination.
Someone will be in place at the entrance to each site to speak with visitors and advise on waiting times and procedures on site. If a queue becomes too long, some vehicles may be turned away and asked to return later. Traffic management plans will be in place to help reduce disruption on the local highways as much as possible.
Cllr Tony Alford, Dorset Council’s portfolio holder for Customer, Community and Regulatory Services, said:
“I’m pleased we have received the guidance needed from central government and we can offer an outlet at the HRCs for waste that may be posing a risk to some Dorset residents and cannot be collected at the kerbside. We have been working hard behind the scenes to plan how we will manage the re-opening of HRCs.
I just want to emphasise, if you really need to take waste posing a hazard to a HRC, you must follow social-distancing guidelines at each site to protect the public and employees from the continuing pandemic. This will inevitably cause significant delays getting into each site, so we are kindly asking people who can continue to store waste safely to delay their trip to the recycling centre until restrictions are eased further.
By working together to focus on essential waste, we can make sure the people who need to use our recycling centres are prioritised before services return to normal. I’d like to thank everyone for their patience and understanding at this time.”
Responses to frequently asked questions around HRC re-opening and restrictions can be found online.
Would it be sensible to allocate days by postcodes to prevent huge inevitable queues
Implementing a postcode system for HRC access would have caused significant delays to opening them back up. If people only travel to an HRC to drop off waste that cannot be stored without causing risk of injury, health or harm, queues will still be long, but manageable.
Why not say you can go on the day that your rubbish is collected? Simple and need no managing.
Alan – People’s essential waste needs may not allow for a wait of up to 2 weeks, or they may only be able to attend weekends. HRCs will return to a full service when social distancing restrictions are fully lifted by central government and/or high levels of demand have subsided.
OK. Many people in Dorset are retired so you would get them out of the way and allow the weekends to be much clearer than they will be using a free for all/join the queue approach. We have been storing rubbish for six weeks so everyone can wait a week…
No-one should have been storing waste up for 6 weeks as kerbside collections have largely continued without disruption. Everyone should still be following Stay at Home guidance until travel restrictions are lifted. Until then, the HRCs are reopening for people who desperately need to drop off their waste and we wouldn’t want to arbitrarily impose restrictions on who can visit when the need to drop off waste is down to personal circumstances.
Cambridgeshire Council launched an advanced booking system for their 7 waste recycling centres which keeps things simple and to avoid queues, might be worth following their lead https://cambridgeshire.bookinglive.com
We looked at a booking system, but it would have taken too long to implement and resource enforcement. Right now, while queues are long right now they are manageable as people generally seem to be heeding our advice about only visiting if you need to.
Can I take garden waste to the tip ?
If your garden waste cannot be stored without causing risk of injury, health or harm, it can be taken to the tip.
While I appreciate the access problems at Sherborne’s HRC due to West Mill Lane, are people really expected to undertake a near-40 mile round trip to go to one of the other HRCs you list?
No we don’t, so we’re still looking into how we can open Sherborne HRC up. In the meantime, if people have waste that poses a risk of injury, health or harm, they’ll have to make the roughly 60 minute round trip (exc. queue times) to Shaftesbury or Blandford. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.
I have just finished clearing my mother’s house as part of an urgent sale as she has entered nursing care. I now have a couple of trailer loads of rubbish, electrical and old garage debris. Plus some furniture. It is blocking up my small work space and needs to be disposed of. I consider it to be potentially dangerous where it is. I am trying to resume my business which has been badly affected already. If left outside it will deteriorate and may attract vermin etc. Would you consider this as qualifying by your criteria?
Sorry Mark, but it’s not our criteria – it’s national guidance. Therefore it’s for you to determine whether your waste poses a risk of injury, health or harm and cannot be stored safely. If you believe it does fall into those categories, then yes – you can take it to an HRC. Just be prepared to queue for a while, especially if visiting in the first week or so.
Can I suggest that you hire a skip? Skip hire companies are open as usual and we have used them rather than store waste
Thank you for the suggestion. If we reach a stage where our HRCs are overwhelmed, we will consider all alternatives.
When are you likely to reopen for normal household waste?
Normal household waste is collected at the kerbside and we will pick up any extra waste from previously missed collections.
I think the respondent meant the waste that you would normally take to the tip. Most households by now will have a pile of stuff that they would normally have dumped weeks ago. We could all claim we could trip over it or rats could infest it but it doesn’t sound like we shall we allowed in? With that in mind, when the tip open for ‘normal’ use please?
I have garden waste in a small trailer which is full. There is too much waste to put safely in the car and it would be messy. Will I be admitted towing a trailer?
We could argue that garden waste in a small trailer does not sound like it is posing a risk of injury, health or harm. However, trailer restrictions can be found at https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/bins-recycling-and-litter/recycling-centres-and-banks/using-a-van-or-trailer.aspx
Thank you. I sympathise with your predicament. It’s one of those situations where policy is going to made “On the Hoof” I guess. I will try to act responsibly, commensurate with safety and practicality.
I shan’t be rushing to the queue as I have a business to resurrect too!
Thanks Mark – stay safe and good luck with the business.
What a complete and utter load of nonsense! If the likes of B&Q, McDonalds, KFC and many more examples of companies, are reopening whilst still being able to observe social distancing, I can’t see why Dorset Council can’t get their heads around this. For example, if you block out every other bay at Swanage tip and only let in four vehicles at a time with any kind/amount of rubbish, they can still safely dispose of their waste without having to come into contact with anyone else. This is typical nonsensical reasoning thought up by a Dorset Councillor. And you want to put an end to fly tipping? This is not the way to do it. If you would like me to come down and show you how to do it, I am more than willing.
Ron – This is DEFRA guidance, applicable to every single HRC across the country. We are reopening whilst still being able to observe social distancing, so we’re unsure what your point is. The restrictions are in force to cope with anticipated demand and align with general Public Health guidance that states if people can stay at home, then they should.
Amazing service in my road
Thank you so much!!
Very good news that Dorset tips are re-opening soon. I note that Hampshire council are re-opening the Somerley tip in the near future. Are there special arrangements for Verwood residents wishing to use that site?
John – Verwood residents can use the site at Somerley for free without registration, but please check Hampshire’s website before visiting as restrictions are in place.
I live in Three Legged Cross & the closest HRC is the BCP Council site at Millhams, at Longham. Can I still use that site or is BCP council applying restrictions during the Covid 19 pandemic?
Alternatively can I use the Sommerleys HRC near Verwood?
John – Yes, you can use either of those sites if you have waste that poses a risk of injury, health or harm. Please refer to the appropriate webpages on the BCP and HCC websites respectively – thank you.
As you cancelled the garden waste service, for which we pay an additional sum, for over a month, do you not think it would be fair to at least allow, if not give priority, to those of us needing to get rid of an accumulation of garden waste, whether or not it is dangerous to store . As of Monday 11th, in any case, the restrictions on travel will have been lifted. Carrying the sub. over to next year is not an adequate response.
Ian – Despite media speculation, it is highly unlikely that travel restrictions will be lifted this evening. If they are, we will adjust our HRC access restrictions accordingly. Until then – unless your garden waste is posing a risk of injury, health or harm – making a trip to the tip to drop off garden waste is not an essential journey and would negate the efforts of most people who are staying at home in order to protect the NHS. If you have excess garden waste, please spread it out over subsequent garden waste collections. Thank you for your co-operation.
Please would you reprint the information regarding BH24 residents allowing them to use Somerley Tip, Hampshire. My neighbour was challenged at the tip, but I understood that Dorset had paid Hampshire for the use of this tip as it is so close to those of us living on the border of the county.
Sorry to hear that Janet. Dorset residents should have access to Somerley as arranged, with no need to pay or pre-register. Could you provide more details about the incident please? In the meantime, we’ll check with Hampshire to ensure on site staff are briefed properly. Thank you.