Cornwall Council has U-turned and will soon allow cyclists access to recycling centres, the backtracking coming in response to a video of a volunteer litter-picker being told he cannot drop rubbish off by bike which was widely shared online, the cyclist told he needs a vehicle to visit the centre.
The county’s council has now said a trial at seven Household Waste and Recycling Centres (HWRCs) which requires all visitors to book a slot in advance will soon be updated to include bicycle visitors too, although pedestrians remain unable to access the site due to safety reasons.
The sites are run by Suez on behalf of the council, cycling litter-picker Julian Hutchison confronted by a member of staff at the Bude HWRC last week as he disposed of rubbish collected in bags on his bicycle trailer.
Mr Hutchison said the whole episode “has made me wonder for the first time if I should give up what I treat as a hobby”, the 74-year-old giving up his spare time to clean up the area by bike, the community-minded volunteer well-known by locals due to his kilt and dog Tashi, who sits in the rear trailer.
Cornwall Council’s U-turn means his litter-picking will continue, he confirmed, the video of the incident at Bude HWRC watched on Facebook more than 60,000 times in the past week.
“The world’s gone bloody mad,” he could be heard telling the Suez employee who explained he would “need to come in a vehicle” due to the county’s facilities’ changed ANPR rules which now require visitors to book their visit in advance.
“I won’t come back in a car because I don’t ****ing own one,” Mr Hutchison replied.
He later told the local newspaper the Falmouth Packet that there were no signs communicating that bicycles would not be allowed access and that, “As far as I’m concerned a bicycle and trailer’s a legal vehicle.”
“I feel sorry for the chap really, but something needed to be done because it was ridiculous,” he added.
In the video the Suez employee told Mr Hutchison he “wouldn’t be able to come back” if he is not in a vehicle complying to the site’s updated rules, before suggesting that everyone would just visit by bike to avoid booking a slot if it was allowed.
However, the council has now addressed the situation and said cyclists are allowed to visit the sites, as long as they use the updated booking form that is being trialled.
A spokesperson for Cornwall Council said: “We are currently trialling a booking system at seven of the HWRCs which requires all visitors to book a slot in advance. We will update the booking form to enable cyclists to book. Cyclists are permitted to visit Cornwall’s Household Waste and Recycling Centres (HWRCs).”
In 2023, Essex County Council made a similar U-turn on a ban on cyclists being allowed into its recycling centres after it was widely criticised on social media and labelled “discriminatory”.
32 thoughts on “Council U-turn over “ridiculous” bike ban at recycling centre, after litter-picking cyclist told he needs a car to drop off rubbish”
I used to live a few hundred
I used to live a few hundred meters from a recycling centre, and once walked there with a few small items, because it wasn’t worth getting the car out. When I walked in, I was accosted by a staff member who told me that I wasn’t allowed to walk on site. I pointed out that all the drivers got out and walked, but he insisted that I’d be in a lot of trouble if I didn’t leave, so I threw my few small items into the right skip and left.
I’ve had plastic surgery and wear a wig.
eburtthebike wrote:
This is the ridiculous bit. I am allowed to cycle alongside these people on the road where the speed limit is higher. When we get inside, everyone is on foot regardless of how they got there. So the prohibition is for the miniscule distance between the entrance gate and the parking bays, where the speed limit is 5mph and where commercial vehicles are banned anyway.
I live across the road from a
I live across the road from a recycling centre in West Yorkshire, same scenario. I tried walking in and was told I couldn’t. I now just chat to the staff and beckon them to the arbitrary painted line, and ask them if they wouldn’t mind popping my small box of items in the appropriate spot. They are happy to help. It’s all ridiculous though. If I walked in and did it I wouldn’t be in any bother, but that staff who “allowed” me to would be. Jokes.
Lucky you! Tried dropping
Lucky you! Tried dropping off a bunch of plastic bags bundled up, about 50cm diameter at our local council site – no, bicycles and foot traffic not allowed in the site. Must *drive* in then step out of vehicle and put things in hoppers – without stepping “away from the vehicle”. Motorcycles *are* allowed. Bicycles *are not* allowed. Was told that if I left the bag at the gate with them I’d be charged with littering!
Glad to see they haven’t lost
Glad to see they haven’t lost the plot on sustainably, oh, never mind…
I know this isn’t the point,
I know this isn’t the point, but lots of supermarkets will now take plastic bags for [some form of recycling] whereas at my council site, they’d just go in the bulky waste (incineration).
It costs money to uodate the
It costs money to update the systems. Here in Gateshead the guys at the recycling centres followed the rules, as they well should. However, a word with management actioned a system update, and now bicycles can be booked in.
If turned away, contact the council waste management and ask if a change can be done. Likely it will be a yes. You might even get ad hoc verbal bookings whilst the minor system work is in progress.
BTW, I would not describe it as a U-turn. It is far more ‘catching up’.
It’s so weird this insistance
It’s so weird this insistance to book to go to the recycling centre.
Plus this idea that people would cycle instead of drive to avoid booking! Isn’t that a good thing?
Yep, it sounds like an
Yep, it sounds like an excellent way to encourage people to use a bike instead of a car. I’m sure they won’t get overwhelmed with cyclists, and if they do then that means that they’ve had success.
I think the booking systems
I think the booking systems are partly a control on the improper disposal of commercial waste. So while it’s perhaps unlikely to happen, in principle it’s not a good thing if people start bringing trade waste by bike as a workaround.
Where I am they had a number
Where I am they had a number of issues of people queuing in the roads for the tip and disrupting traffic. The police had to intervene a couple of times.
The booking system was partly a response to that.
I gather in Edinburgh (family
I gather in Edinburgh (family live there, so booking system I have seen in use), the booking system is actually fairly popular.
Turns out that it massively reduces queuing and increases availability – requiring a booking spreads out usage over time so they have significantly shorter waits, less queuing, but more usage.
IIRC something like 90% of the time you can get a slot within 30 minutes (so basically book a slot that is just far enough out to load a vehicle and drive over)
In Milton Keynes you have to
In Milton Keynes you have to be a local resident too, I believe it’s to stop travellers who then fly tip elsewhere !
Can be a bit “tragedy of the
Can be a bit “tragedy of the commons”. There are currently a lot of travellers in my district of the city; I’m not over all the details eg. whether waste disposal provision is blocked “to not encourage them” etc. But at any rate large and very visible piles of waste are generated. Lots apparently from the casual work people engage in eg. trimming trees and “clearing” refuse (then dumping same in green spaces).
Leaving that possibly insoluble issue aside the truth about “recycling” centres is that they’re really decoration on the waste disposal system. “Better than nothing” i guess. But there’s the overt “just put it all in the landfill skip mate”. And once stuff is shipped elsewhere who knows what happens to it? Out of sight…
Was directed not to go into
Was directed not to go into my local recycling centre a few times, but to dump the stuff at the entrance and staff would take it to the right area, seemed odd. but since then have been directed into the centre as normal which is definitely feels better. Especially with larger items mattresses/beds etc less hassle for the folk on the gate who would have to hand ball the recycling.
I had the same in my local
I had the same in my local London one. I somehow managed to get an old non-working microwave oven to the site on my pannier rack and they told me to just leave outside. There wasn’t loads of cars around so there was no harm in me cycling in and leaving it in the right place.
Edinburgh has formal booking,
Edinburgh has formal booking, they added putting “bike” or “cargo bike” in the car registration section. (I’ve just checked again and oddly you can pick now vehicle type = bike but they still want you to enter “bike” in the reg. Perhaps “form needs input” and “we don’t pay anyone to make it nicer”?)
In practice I cannot remember being asked for my booking when turning up on a bike. In fact AFAIKS they are generally lax on checking that people have booked. Although perhaps “it varies” and maybe if it was busy / you turned up with a van / trailer they would check?
Our local recycling centres
Our local recycling centres operate a booking system for cars but allow people on bikes to turn up without warning. They have not, as far as I can see, been overwhelmed by cyclists trying to game the system.
Can you get your council to
Can you get your council to tell Milton Keynes Council about this, because they still refuse bikes, encourage car use and promote pollution. Sick of this perverse attitude dictated by jobsworths in offices, who never leave home unless they’re in their cars !!
Council unable to find its
Council unable to find its own a***hole with a torch and a map. Also encourages car use only at HWRC. Nothing new here, move along.
Mirror advised.
Mirror advised.
I’ve had the same locally,
I’ve had the same locally, the top was backed up, lots of engines running pointlessly. So I parked up and walked in. You can’t walk in because of the dangers of cars. Errm, less cars would help maybe?
Personally I think there is
Personally I think there is actually a bigger issue here with banning pedestrians than banning bikes…
While having a bicycle is a lower bar than having a car, its still a bar on use of waste facilities so discriminates on the basis of wealth (affording a vehicle for transport) and health (ability to drive/cycle). The argument of ‘safety’ falls apart when you point out that people park up and walk around the site anyway, so it has to be safe to walk around…
If you ban bikes but permit pedestrians, that just means cyclists have to dismount and walk…
Or the other way round. If
Or the other way round. If pedestrians are not allowed but bikes are, then borrow a bike !
“…pedestrians remain unable
“…pedestrians remain unable to access the site due to safety reasons.“
Who is causing the danger?
In these arguments that is
In these arguments that is irrelevant it seems – because people have to drive.
Although this kind of thing is always used as an argument for “no change – and in fact increasing motoring” – there is some sense in it. Barring e.g. Sark * – I don’t think anyone’s managed to keep out or remove all the cars. Even in NL there is a lot of driving going on – it’s just far better managed **.
So expect to see councils etc. coming out with this kind of silliness (for possibly generations).
* But we have tractors.
** There are excellent alternatives to driving some trips which in the UK would “obviously” be driven, and also disincentives.
Here in the US (sorry, not my
Here in the US (sorry, not my voted president), we were on a hot, sweaty group bike ride and stopped at a newly opened Dairy Queen for some ice cream and chose to use the drive-up because of our…condition. We were told ‘next time, we have to order inside, not in the line with cars, due to “safety reasons” ‘. One in our group asked “Cars going too fast?” No answer.
That was almost 3 years ago and we’ve never been back. If bikers can handle themselves in moving traffic, they can stretch to fit in with trash recycling and ice cream!
quadtodd wrote:
Same is apparently corporate policy at McDonald’s — no human-powered vehicles allowed in the drive-thru lanes. So they don’t get any of my/our business.
Well that, and a McDonald’s nearly killed me with food poisoning five years ago.
IIRC it’s not just “No human
IIRC it’s not just “No human powered vehicles ” so much as “Nothing that isn’t powered by an internal engine of some kind”. No horses or horse-pulled vehicles, for example.
Question: they allow motorbikes to be ridden through their drive-thrus, don’t they? I wonder how they feel about EAPC and electric motorbikes?
I’ve had the same response in
I’ve had the same response in Milton Keynes, who appear to both encourage vehicle use and fly tipping. ” You need a car to tip waste here”. Well done Cornwall for then allowing this, but no such thinking from MK Council. They’ve had a pre booking system since lockdown, which requires a vehicle registration, so without that, you cannot take your waste.
Here in York, at the city
Here in York, at the city centre’s recycling facility in James St, we’re lucky to have a special ride-in area for cyclists.
It was expanded and upgraded a couple of weeks ago, and is now big enough to get a bike and trailer, or a cargo bike, inside – and turn it round. There’s a range of bins for all types of recycling, and a button to request help if you have a particularly large item (such as a mattress) to drop off. No appointment is necessary – you can just turn up.
Evidently such things are possible, whatever other councils may think…
I’m not quite sure how you
I’m not quite sure how you get bikes into Pottyboro’s recycling centre, it a pretty car orientated layout with a sharp ramp up into a building of recycling skips and a sharp ramp down. There is some less accessible skips at grade, maybe these but you can’t get out unless you use the ramps :-/ But the council says “You do not need an e-permit if you visit on foot or by bicycle”, so I guess bikes are allowed !