Household recycling centres (HRCs) are again straining under increased visitor numbers.

Dorset Council is asking residents not to visit HRCs right now unless their waste cannot be stored safely at home.

Recent warm weather has resulted in HRCs becoming busy again as visitors drop off their items - primarily garden waste and wood - which is starting to cause long queues, creating access problems for residents, businesses and kerbside collection vehicles.

Last May, Dorset Council re-opened its HRCs with safety restrictions in place after they were closed in the early stages of the pandemic. Initially, extra people were brought in to manage queuing traffic, but this was scaled back as visitor numbers eased over the summer, with volunteers and employees deployed elsewhere.

This had continued to work well over the colder months when visitor numbers are traditionally lower, but lately the mild weather has encouraged people to ben gardening again, or spring cleaning. The produces more waste, which in turn causes visitor numbers to rise.

But safety restrictions remain in place, meaning that access to each HRC still hasn't returned to pre-Covid levels. For example, parts of each site may have been sectioned off to help with social distancing, there can only be one person on the access steps at any given time and on-site staff are not permitted to physically help visitors unload and drop off their waste.

As a result, vehicle access and visitor time on site is slower than usual. Some people have been making multiple trips per day, while others have even complained about the delays in being able to access each site, while contributing to the traffic problems.

Dorset Council is once again asking everyone if they really need to visit a HRC or whether they can keep their waste at home safely until social distancing measures are relaxed.

Councillor Jill Haynes, Dorset Council's portfolio holder for customer, community and regulatory services, said: "I completely understand that people want to get on with their usual activities and pastimes, including gardening or even having a clear-out.

"These can be a great way of being productive while everything remains closed. But these activities produce waste, and everyone needs to remember that the whole country is still very much in lockdown.

"HRCs are open to deal with essential waste, they are not an invitation for people to make a 'trip to the tip', especially when public health guidance states we should all be avoiding unnecessary travel right now.

"We don't want to reintroduce costly traffic management measures, or start scrutinising the types of waste that are being dropped off, but we also cannot excuse the sheer number of visitors who are doing frivolous tip runs at a time when everyone is being asked help contain the virus by staying at home whenever possible.

"If you can keep hold of your waste safely at home, then please do so until restrictions have been lifted.

"If you are gardening, please consider home-composting or signing up for our garden waste service.

"Thank you for your patience and co-operation."

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