Think about your waste this Easter

The Easter bank holiday weekend is normally a great opportunity to have a spring clean either at home or in the garden, but this year Dacorum Borough Council is urging residents not to create excess waste.

Waste Services resources are already heavily stretched due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis, which has led to severe staff and resource shortages and an increase in waste generated due to more residents being at home. To add to this, all of Hertfordshire’s Household Waste Recycling Centres and charity shops are closed, as are many online communities such as Freecycle and Facebook reuse groups.

Because of this the Council is urging residents to think about the waste that they are creating during their time at home. This may mean putting off having a clear-out until later in the year. Or storing any excess waste from DIY projects, spring cleans or garden waste at home until it can be disposed of safely and legally.

Currently all of kerbside collections are going ahead as normal – grey, blue-lidded, food and garden waste. This is thanks to the fantastic dedication of frontline crews who have been maintaining this key service. If this service needs to change, the Council will communicate this on their website: www.dacorum.gov.uk/waste.

Due to strain on Waste Services there have been higher levels of missed bins, please report these as normal at: www.dacorum.gov.uk/missed-bin-collection.

The Council will not collect any excess grey bin or garden waste, please do not put this out as it will not be accepted and can lead to litter. Make room in your grey bin by squashing down items as much as possible and recycling all that you can.

The majority of Easter packaging, such as cardboard boxes, plastic and foil are all recyclable. Boxes can easily be flattened to make extra space in your bin. Scrunch aluminium foil wrappers together into a ball.

Excess mixed recycling and food waste will be collected. Leave any excess mixed recycling in a sturdy container next to your blue-lidded bin on your collection day. Excess food waste should be sealed tightly in a bag and put out next to your kerbside caddy the morning of your collection.

If you have excess garden waste you could store this at home temporarily or start home composting, there are many different ways of doing this. Get Composting offers residents subsidised composting bins, find out more: www.dacorum.gov.uk/compost. Alternatively you could subscribe to the Additional Garden Waste Service which allows you to have an extra bin collected every time your normal green bin is collected. Find out more: www.dacorum.gov.uk/extragreenbin.

Do not burn any waste on bonfires – this contributes to air pollution and causes disturbance for neighbours who may be self-isolating.

The Council is currently unable to empty its bring banks as regularly as normal and so advises not using these sites. Do not leave items or bags on the floor of bring banks, or outside charity shops – this is illegal fly tipping.

The Bulky Waste Collection service is currently suspended until further notice. As Household Waste Recycling Centres are also closed, you will need to hold on to these items until normal service resumes.

Remember, it is your responsibility to ensure that your waste is always dealt with responsibly. All householders and businesses have a legal ‘Duty of Care’. Leaving bulky items out for collection by an unlicensed waste carrier can mean that your items end up fly-tipped. If they are traced back to you, you will be the one who can face an unlimited fine. Find out more about fly tipping: www.dacorum.gov.uk/flytipping.

If you are planning on getting rid of items that still have plenty of life left in them, remember that it is much better for the environment to give them a new life second hand by either selling them, donating them to charity or giving them away for free. There are a range of different ways you can do this such as charity shops, Facebook marketplace, eBay, and many more. As charity shops and online communities such as Freecycle and Facebook reuse group are not currently operating, it would be best to hold on to these items until they reopen.

This is a difficult time and the public need to help play their parts too – any small help makes a big difference when we all pull together. Dacorum Borough Council would like to thank residents for their cooperation during this time and thank them for their understanding.

Keep up to date with all of the latest waste services information: www.dacorum.gov.uk/waste.