FROM Tandridge District Council…
Recycling and rubbish collection updates
As there are more people at home, there is an increase in the amount of waste being collected in the district. In addition, the need for social distancing, more parked cars and staff absence due to sickness means some waste collection services may take longer to be collected and there may be delays.
If there are staff shortages due to sickness increase, we may temporarily suspend the service.
To minimise delays, follow this guidance:
- Don’t park your car so it blocks the access to the road. Our collection vehicles and emergency vehicles need to easily access your road.
- Put your bin out early and leave it out till it’s been emptied.
- Put it at the edge of your property, not on the pavement or in the road.
- Put food waste in your green food caddy, do not put it in your rubbish bin.
- Compact your recycling as much as possible to maximise space and only put bins out when they are full.
- Excess rubbish on top of or down by the side of your black wheeled rubbish bin will not be collected.
Community recycling centres are closed
To protect the centre staff and the public, the community recycling centres in Caterham on the Hill, Warlingham and the Earlswood depot have closed until further notice.
Store at home any items you would normally take to a centre until they re-open, please don’t put them in your bins.
The skip hire companies are still operating if you are having a much larger clear out or starting on some DIY.
No bonfires please during lockdown
Residents across the district are being asked to think of others and to not light bonfires to dispose of their waste.
Bonfires create smoke, cause air pollution and prevent people from being in their gardens and can have a bigger impact at this time.
Coronavirus is known to cause serious respiratory problems, which could be made much worse if the sufferer is exposed to smoke from bonfires.
Bonfires can also become out of control or cause accidents, creating extra pressure on the already busy emergency services.
We understand the closure of our community recycling centres may create a storage issue for some residents. Please think of others, compost your garden waste where possible, and store your rubbish for disposal when the current emergency is over, rather than burn it.
Are you having a spring clean?
If you decide to have a spring clean while you’re at home, don’t put everything in the bin straight away, please wait until normal service resumes. To ensure your rubbish and recycling is collected, please don’t put items in your bins, which should be taken to a community recycling centre.
You may like to consider giving unwanted clothes, shoes and household goods to charity when they re-open. Do not leave anything outside closed charity shops as this is fly tipping, which is illegal dumping and a crime.
Don’t flytip your waste.
We appreciate options for disposing of your waste are reduced now, but please don’t be tempted to dispose of your waste elsewhere in the district, this is flytipping.
Flytipping is against the law and those convicted face fines of up to £50,000 or up to five years’ imprisonment, as well as other potential penalties.
Dealing with your waste when you’re ill
If you are ill with coronavirus, or think you may be, please double bag any waste which may carry the virus and leave it in a safe place for 72 hours before you put it in your bins.
The amount of virus living on surfaces will have reduced significantly after 72 hours. Please make sure all tissues are bagged up and placed in the black wheeled rubbish bin or green council bin bags and not put in your blue lidded recycling bin.
Read our guidance on how to deal with your waste if you’re self isolating.
If you need to contact us about your bin collections, please use our online links if you can to free up the phone lines for people without access to the internet.