Warning issued over long queues at Sheffield tips – as drivers wait for up to an hour

The lengthy tailbacks outside the council’s five household waste and recycling centres follow the mildest and sunniest weekend so far this year, which many people used to do a spot of gardening or an early spring clear-out.

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Veolia, the council’s waste and recycling contractor, said on Tuesday that there was an estimated 60-minute wait at the Shirecliffe tip, with drivers queuing for around 45 minutes at the dumps on Blackstock Road, Gleadless, and in High Green.

The long waits are similar to those experienced during the first lockdown, and some nearby residents have again complained about the congestion posing the risk of a serious accident.

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Veolia, which tweets estimated waiting times for the tips throughout the day via its @Recycle4Shef account, reminded motorists not to queue on the main roads.

Sheffield Council put the lengthy waits down to a combination of the measures in place to ensure social distancing and protect staff, and an increase in visits due to more people being at home doing DIY and clearing out their homes, sheds and garages.

It has asked residents with significant volumes of household or garden waste have been asked to consider contacting a registered skip hire company or use the council’s garden waste and bulky waste collection services.

A council spokeswoman said it shares the estimated waits to discourage people from visiting at the busiest times and parking staff were helping to manage traffic around the tips, with drivers failing to move on when asked to facing a £70 on-the-spot fine.

The council said last week that there had been a number of recent incidents where visitors had threatened or verbally abused staff at its tips.

It has warned that physical or verbal threats to staff at the tips will not be tolerated and could result in sites being closed.

Only one person at a time should visit a site and they should only bring waste they can safely carry alone as staff are unable to provide any assistance.

For more information about Sheffield’s tips, including opening times, visit: www.veolia.co.uk/sheffield/HWRC.