West Sussex waste recycling sites reopen with restrictions

Household waste recycling sites have reopened in West Sussex for waste which cannot be picked up or "presents a risk of injury or harm to health".

Only garden and domestic waste is being accepted and only cars will be allowed in the recycling sites, West Sussex County Council said.

One person will be allowed to unload and staff will not be able to help.

Visiting a waste site does not count as a "reasonable excuse" to travel, a council spokesman said.

He told householders they should only visit a waste recycling site "if your waste or recycling is not suitable to be picked up in your kerbside collection and presents a risk of injury or harm to health".

"If it doesn't, please safely store your items at home for now or make other legal arrangements for it to be removed."

Last week saw queues in Birmingham and Manchester as recycling centres there reopened.

The council spokesman said emergency laws on essential travel still applied.

"These essential reasons provide the only 'reasonable excuse' for travel - the fact that sites are open does not."

Trailers and large vehicles, including vans and pickups will not be allowed to access the council's waste recycling sites, he said.

Deborah Urquhart, West Sussex County Council Cabinet Member for Environment, said: "The health and protection of residents and our staff is our absolute priority.

"We are expecting the sites to be busy when they reopen and social distancing measures will mean fewer cars can access the site at any one time, so users should plan for significant delays and long queues, which could affect the road network."

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