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news
Litter-picking cyclist told recycling centre is vehicle only (credit: Facebook/Julian Hutchison)Council U-turn over "ridiculous" bike ban at recycling centre, after litter-picking cyclist told he needs a car to drop off rubbish
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".
Dan is the road.cc news editor and joined in 2020 having previously written about nearly every other sport under the sun for the Express, and the weird and wonderful world of non-league football for The Non-League Paper. Dan has been at road.cc for four years and mainly writes news and tech articles as well as the occasional feature. He has hopefully kept you entertained on the live blog too.
Never fast enough to take things on the bike too seriously, when he's not working you'll find him exploring the south of England by two wheels at a leisurely weekend pace, or enjoying his favourite Scottish roads when visiting family. Sometimes he'll even load up the bags and ride up the whole way, he's a bit strange like that.
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19 comments
"...pedestrians remain unable to access the site due to safety reasons."
Who is causing the danger?
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.
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...
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?
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.
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.
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?
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 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.
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 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 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 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 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)
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'.
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.
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.
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.