More than 1 million visits made to Household Recycling Centres in Buckinghamshire during 2020/21
The Buckinghamshire Council Household Recycling Centre in Burnham. (Image supplied by Buckinghamshire Council)
Over a million visits have been made to Household Recycling Centres in Buckinghamshire during 2020/21.
Buckinghamshire’s nine local household recycling centres have seen over a million visits during the past year, that’s more than the Eden Project or Ashmolean Museum or National Trust Estates, Cliveden and Waddesdon combined!
Despite the sites being closed for a few weeks at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic (March/April 2020), over a million visits were made throughout the year, with approximately 66% of waste recycled or composted.
The recorded number of visits is lower than that seen in previous years, however almost the same amount of waste was bought to the sites than the year before and visitors filled their cars more, increasing carloads by up to 1/3:
- Average trip 2019/20 : 33kg
- Average trip 2020/21 : 44kg
With residents visiting the local sites with bigger carloads of rubbish, it’s more important than ever to encourage sorting waste before arrival at the site to ensure as much waste can be recycled as possible.
Over 30 different waste streams are accepted at each site, so the more visitors can sort before making a trip to the tip, the more that can be recycled.
Changes in recycling and waste behaviours due to the Covid-19 pandemic were visible on site. There was a 25% increase in garden waste as many residents took up gardening and the sites received 1/3 more cardboard than previous years as online deliveries increased to Buckinghamshire homes and businesses.
Unfortunately, the pandemic took its toll on Buckinghamshire’s reuse shops which experienced a 50% drop as they remained closed for a large part of the year in line with government guidance. All reuse shops have now reopened, and customers and donations are welcomed.
Peter Strachan, Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Environment at Buckinghamshire Council, said: ‘We have worked really hard this year to keep the sites safe and easy to access for our residents and it’s great to see so many people still doing the right thing and bringing their waste to our sites. On average 450 visits were made for every hour the sites were open!
A million visits go to show how important the Household Recycling Centres are to local people and we are happy we can provide that service to them.
In Buckinghamshire, we have the opportunity to recycle so many different types of waste so we really do encourage people to sort their waste at home before making a trip to the tip so together, we can recycle more and reduce our impact on the environment.‘
Further information on the Household Recycling Centres in Buckinghamshire can be found at www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/bin-collection-recycling-and-waste/recycle-household-waste.
*Source of article : Press release from Buckinghamshire Council.
