Thousands of drivers queued for hours outside a rubbish dump in Birmingham today after the city reopened the waste sites for the first time in seven weeks.
Drivers remained seated in their vehicles in the sweltering heat in queues that stretched for miles after four of five waste sites in the city were opened by the waste contractor Veolia.
At one centre in Kings Norton, more than 250 vehicles were counted queuing this afternoon with many waiting outside the site from dawn before dumping their waste.
One driver, who joined the queue an hour before the recycling centre opened at 11am, said: ‘In two hours and ten minutes, I’ve actually driven 30 yards and I’ve still got another hour before I get in.
Drivers queued for hours outside rubbish dump in Birmingham today after the recycling centre lockdown was lifted
People remained seated in their cars for hours in an effort to dispose of their waste in one of the city’s many rubbish dumps
One man wearing a mask sat in his car with his rubbish as he waited to be let into one of Birmingham’s waste centres
‘They’re only letting five in at a time. I can’t see me getting home before dinner. It’s lucky I got my tea out of the freezer.’
Recycling bosses vetted drivers before letting them into the depots, turning away drivers trying their luck from out-of-town.
Local resident Tony Astley said: ‘I was in this queue at 10am this morning. It’s now 12.12pm and there’s still about an hour to wait just to get into the recycling centre.’
Meanwhile at the Norris Way centre in Sutton Coldfield, police were seen directing traffic and locals were told to check webcams before venturing to the tips – only for the webpage to crash due to high usage.
As many rushed to the centres to dispose of their rubbish, waste firm Veolia said the tips were open for essential use only.
A statement from Veolia read: ‘To ensure the safety of the public and our staff, we are opening for essential use only. This is for residents who have a problem with storing too much waste or have oils or other hazardous waste at home.
‘Please think carefully before you decide to visit the site. Non-essential use puts yourself, other members of the public and our staff at risk from spreading the infection.
‘Anyone in self-isolation or with COVID-19 symptoms must NOT visit under any circumstances. The number of vehicles on-site will be restricted and cars should be driver-only where possible.’
A line of cars waited in the heat to be let into one of the Household recycling centres in Birmingham
A member of staff speaks to drivers outside one of Birmingham’s waste centres after four of five waste sites in the city were opened by the waste contractor Veolia
People rushed to Birmingham’s recycling centres today after the city decided to open four of its five sites
Drivers remained seated in the cars in queues that stretched for miles as the rubbish tips began to open today
Local Government Secretary Robert Jenrick has urged councils to reopen tips ‘as soon as possible’.
The scenes come a survey of local authorities revealed around half of all councils hope to begin opening their rubbish tips by the end of next week as the country starts to ease its lockdown guidelines.
The survey, commissioned by the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning and Transport (Adept), found more than four in five (84 per cent) of the councils asked had plans to open their tips and 37 per cent hoped to reopen sites by May 14.
The study comes as Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday confirmed that the strict measures imposed under the six-week coronavirus lockdown will start to be eased on Monday.
The results from the survey also showed that about one in nine (11 per cent) of council were planning to have household waste and recycling centres open this week.
A member of staff at the Birmingham recycling plant checks the driver’s i.d and ensures they are using the site for essential use
As councils begin to reopen their rubbish tips, hundreds of drivers rushed to one of Birmingham’s dumping sites
Many household recycling and waste centres were closed when the country went into lockdown, due to difficulties with social distancing and so councils could concentrate staff and resources on bin collections.
But closure of tips and curbs on some collections, along with more waste being generated by people embarking on spring clean clear-outs, DIY projects and gardening, has raised concerns over an increase in fly-tipping.
This week, the Government published updated guidance encouraging local authorities to reopen their centres if social distancing measures can be put in place and staff and visitors can be kept safe.
Householders are being told they should only take rubbish to a household waste and recycling centre if it cannot be stored safely at home and no alternatives for disposing of it, such as bulky waste collections, are available.
David Renard, environment spokesman for the Local Government Association, said: ‘Councils are keen to open household waste and recycling centres as soon as practicable.
‘The decision to reopen sites will be taken by individual councils based on risk assessments in their area.
‘This will be a gradual process over the next few weeks and based on whether they have enough staff, social distancing measures are in place to protect workers and members of the public, and waste staff are given personal protective equipment to reduce the risk of infection and provide reassurance.’
Earlier this week local government groups which represent district and county councils in England asked Britons not to rush to their nearest dumping site over fears that it would create queues to form.
A survey, commissioned by the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning and Transport (Adept), found that 84 per cent of council were planning to open their dumps. Pictured: Drivers wait to get into one of Merseyside’s re-opened recycling centres this week
This week cars were seen lining up outside a dumping site in South Manchester after it began to open its gates
A huge line of cars were seen waiting to get into some of Merseyside’s re-opened recycling centres
With many set to reopen, groups feared a ‘sudden rush’ could spark long lines of traffic, like those seen in both Greater Manchester and Northumberland after councils were finally given the green light to reopen waste centres.
One group to raise concern was the District Councils’ Network a cross-party member led network of 187 district councils.
Dan Humphreys, from the District Councils Network, said: ‘We appreciate how hard people have been working to keep on top of waste but we would like to stress that it won’t be possible for everyone to suddenly get rid of any rubbish they have built up over recent weeks all in one go.’
While Sam Corcoran, the group’s communities and environment spokesman, said: ‘We would encourage residents to only take a trip to their recycling centre if absolutely necessary, reusing or recycling items using kerbside collections wherever possible.’
Last Saturday, Greater Manchester and Northumberland, which have reopened its tips with a system alternating the days vehicles are allowed to attend, saw long long queues forming from 7.30am.
As a tip in Manchester begins to open its doors, cars are seen lining up in an effort to get inside
A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Combined Authority said that the possibility of introducing a booking system was being explored, but to implement it at short notice for 2.5 million residents would have been challenging.
Prior to the reopening Local Government Secretary Robert Jenrick told the BBC: ‘Obviously don’t abuse it, but we know that there’s lots of people with rubbish and recycling and boxes from all those deliveries people are getting piling up in their homes, and it’s right that we manage that and make people’s lives a bit more bearable by getting that out of the house.’
In March, rubbish dumps and recycling centres across the UK closed in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
A spokesman for the Local Government Association said at the time: ‘Councils are leading local efforts to support communities through the coronavirus crisis.
‘As councils prioritise protecting the vulnerable, there will be inevitable disruption to other important services, such as bin collections and street cleaning.
‘Some councils are having to change their waste and recycling services as coronavirus impacts on their collection staff. They will continue to work hard to keep waste and recycling services working as effectively as possible.’
The latest figures show fly-tipping has risen by 300 per cent in rural communities since the closure of nearly all tips in March.