The Dix Pit household waste recycling centre will reopen on Monday 18 May but residents are being urged to hold their visit unless it is absolutely essential.

Long tailbacks are expected at the site run by Oxfordshire County Council. These are set to be exacerbated by reduced opening hours and the number of vehicles accessing the site being reduced by 50 per cent to allow for social distancing.

Government guidance says that trips to a recycling centre should only be made if ‘essential’ – that is if the waste cannot be stored safely without harm to health. 

It adds: “It would be reasonable for residents to undertake a journey to a HWRC if the waste or recycling could not be stored safely at home or disposed of through other legitimate routes such as a dedicated collection.

“By this we mean that the waste/recycling could not be stored on their property without causing a risk of injury, health or harm to the resident or other members of their household or harm to public health and amenity.”

Cllr Norman MacRae, Cabinet Member for the Environment at West Oxfordshire District Council, said: “We know there has been considerable frustration with the site being closed but hopefully this decision will help ease the situation and help prevent fly-tipping.

“I would urge residents not to react too hastily though as we don’t want to see the site overwhelmed. If you can delay for a while longer, this would help everyone concerned.”

Residents are also reminded that the full bulky waste service will be available again from Thursday 14 May.

For more information, see:

https://www.westoxon.gov.uk/bins-and-recycling/getting-rid-of-large-items/

Things to remember when visiting the reopened centres: 

• You should only visit the site if you cannot safely store your waste at home.
• Revised opening hours: All sites will open at 8am and close at 4pm to allow them to be cleaned for the following day. The summer evening opening hours are suspended.
• Vehicle numbers and parking bays will be reduced on site, and once the maximum is reached the site will operate on a one-out one-in basis. PLEASE NOTE the potential for long delays and queues.
• Please follow any instructions given by traffic marshals to ensure queues are managed safely
• Charges for non-household waste brought to sites will continue and this will be by contactless card payment only.
• Residents are expected to self-police and abide by social distancing of two metres from site teams and other residents at all times.
• For an initial period, no hire vans or trailers will be permitted onto sites.
• Site teams will be there for guidance only and will not be able to assist residents in unloading their waste.
• Only one resident will be permitted out of the vehicle, unless it is to unload a heavy load which would otherwise be unsafe to remove. Visits are best made by just one person per vehicle.
• In line with Public Health England guidance, residents who are vulnerable, or who are showing symptoms which may indicate coronavirus, should not visit household recycling centres.
• Residents are requested to ensure all waste is pre-sorted before arriving at site to ensure minimum time on site.

Please refer to the Oxfordshire County Council website before leaving home to familiarise yourself with these and to avoid frustration and delay:

www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/wastereopenquestions