Queues form as Staffordshire tips reopen as lockdown eased
Long queues were forming as household waste recycling centres in Staffordshire reopened to residents today.
The tips throughout the county reopened on Thursday, following their closures in March due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Large queues were formed outside the sites, ahead of opening at 9am. Pictures showed a queue forming outside the Cannock site, in Lichfield Road, with cars waiting along the A5190.
Staffordshire County Council took to social media to urge residents to delay their visits to Cannock, or instead use the Burntwood site.
Huge queues were also forming in the village of Bilbrook, as the Pendeford Mill Lane site reopened at 9am this morning.
Staffordshire County Council bosses had urged residents to only visit the sites for essential use and follow the rules in place to ensure safety of the public and staff.
The council also has sites in Burntwood, Lichfield, Rugeley, Stafford, Stone and Wombourne – which were all reopening today, along with Cannock and Bilbrook.
Strict rules in place included one person per vehicle, no trailers or flatbed trucks will be allowed, two-metre distance rule in place and allow time for queuing.
Previously, Mark Deaville, the authority's cabinet member for commercial, said: "On normal day we would handle around 3,000 visits to our sites, but after several weeks of people doing jobs around the home and in the garden, demand will undoubtedly be high at the recycling centres.
“The number of vehicles permitted on site will be reduced to adhere to social distancing rules, meaning that for many, queuing at the centres is highly likely. To reduce the time queuing, we are asking people to be sensible and stagger the times they visit the centre if they can. Please be patient, and please work with us."
He added: “Visits to the centre should only be essential – if waste can be stored in the garage, garden or by the house please leave it there a little longer until the first wave of demand passes.”
