More slots are going to be made available at tips on the Isle of Wight – but you STILL cannot dump black bags and general waste.
Since May, Island residents have had to pre-book a slot at the 2 household waste and recycling centres (HWRCs) to get rid of most of the rubbish they have been collecting in lockdown.
After initial restrictions were put in place, including a speed limit and temporary one-way system on Briddlesford Road, some measures have been lifted as the tips open up to more people.
Despite the increase in slots and acceptance of most rubbish types, general household waste (black bin rubbish), is still not accepted at the site. Included in the term general waste is nappies, used tissues, crisp packets, cigarette butts and bubble wrap.
The council has said households creating large amounts of general waste because of medical reasons, 6 or more people in the household or 2 or more children in nappies can order a larger black bin on its website.
In a letter to all local authorities, the government advised councils to ‘avoid unnecessarily tight restrictions like a limited number of pre-booked slots’ after it was found some councils had put ‘excessively tight restrictions’ in place.
Simon Clarke, minister for local government, and Rebecca Pow, environment minister, said in the letter:
“Where there are opportunities to improve access and to help householders dispose of waste responsibly then we would encourage [local authorities] to keep measures under review and to extend access where this can be done safely.”
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However, the Isle of Wight Council has said it has received no complaints about the current booking system and is increasing the number of slots available per hour.
Also, by working in partnership with Amey, the council says the sites and processes have been closely monitored and regularly reviewed to ensure the safety of residents and staff.
A spokesperson for the council said:
“As long as social distancing is required we cannot operate the site as we used to.
“For the safety of staff and householders, there are internal restrictions on the number of parking bays in use and the number of vehicles able to access the site at any one time.
“Every householder can book every 14 days.”
At Lynnbottom HWRC, only 12 of the 23 parking bays can be used, following the social distancing guidelines set by government.
In May, 13 cars were able to go to the tip every half hour but with restrictions lifting, allowing different vehicles and trailers to bring waste, this was changed to 10 vehicles every 15 minutes. From 3rd August, more slots will open to allow 13 vehicles every 15 minutes, meaning 52 households can attend the HWRC in an hour.
The time scheduled for the appointment is only the time you should arrive at the site, and not a time limit — residents are able to unload their waste in the time it takes them to do so.
At Afton Marsh HWRC, in Freshwater, only 4 of the 8 parking bays can be used. From 3rd August, 6 vehicles will be allowed into the HWRC every 15 minutes compared to only 5 cars per 30 minutes when it re-opened with stricter measures.
To find the full list of what you can and cannot take to the HWRCs, you can visit www.iwight.com/recyclingcentres and www.iwight.com/waste.
You watch that will be it now for black bags they will never take them up there again as will assume that people are sorting rubbish correctly instead of just putting it all in a black bag
This type of change when in or after a crisis is called shock doctorine. Governments and councils ( under the advice of the liars (government) use this all the time. Changing things to suit them,not us! Just thought I would enlighten some people, not that they will believe it or not!
What a complete joke, no black bags, what difference does no black bags make to the huge machinary that processes it. If you cant social distance in a huge open air facilty like Lyn Bottom theres no hope! Go home and sit in your lounge for another 6 months. If the staff and management only got paid for what came through the gates they would of been open fully last month. They need to get back to full capacity and get on with it.
black bags dont earn money for them whereas machinery and scrap meta,l wood, electrical`s and plastic do ..
Remove the 30mph speed limit. When cars used to queue all the way back to the roundabout they were fine for it to be 60mph. But since the current restrictions have been in place there has not been a single car queuing up so why have it as 30mph? It all seems some what backwards.
Yes!…
Why, exactly, is there a 30 mph limit there?
When they had the one way system, there was a justifiably valid reason for it, but now, there’s even less reason than before covid…(i.e. no queues now)
Nobody sticks to it anyway… So it is rather pointless.
Remove that totally unnecessary speed bump on entry that does nothing but damage vehicles. Grinds the bottom of my car every time.
See the scars on the speed bump itself, tells many tales expensive damage.
Not sure this is correct. I spent ages last weekend sorting my waste. I left all my black bags still piled up in my garden and took the items from the list. When I got there the plastics container was closed so I asked the man on duty. He turned round and told me to chuck it in the general waste/black bags which was open. He then said to me it was absolutely fine to put black sacks down as long as it was not items that you would or could put in your bins! Everyone was doing it down there so why they are saying you can’t on their website is beyond me. Ridiculous!