A council has made a U-turn on a ban on cyclists being allowed into its recycling centres after it was widely criticised on social media over the policy, which had been slammed as “discriminatory.”

The ban on cyclists using such facilities in the county had been highlighted on Twitter by disability campaigner 2_Wheeled_Wolf, who lives in Colchester and uses his bike as a disability aid to get around, including when visiting his local recycling centre.

As we reported on the live blog here on road.cc yesterday, Essex County Council had said that people using its recycling sites would, from Monday 13 March, have to book in advance – a common practice in many local authority areas.

The council said: “Pedestrians and cyclists carrying waste from their own home are also not required to book.”

But it went on to say that “Cyclists visiting recycling centres are asked to leave their push bikes at the pedestrian gate and should not bring them into the site.”

Justifying its policy, it added: “There are no cycle paths for them to safely travel on the pedestrian walkways. Please note, any resident that parks outside and attempts to walk waste in will be refused entry.”

That ban has now been reversed, reports Essex Live, (link is external)which quotes a council spokesperson as saying: “We welcome residents’ feedback, and we are committed to working with residents in order to get the booking process trial right. We have looked into this issue as a priority, and we are pleased to say this guidance has now been amended.

“Cyclists are welcome to use their bikes when visiting our recycling centres and do not need to book. As recycling centres are busy operational environments, we advise cyclists to either queue with other vehicles or to dismount and ‘walk’ with their bike on the pedestrian walkways.”

In his criticism of the former policy, 2_Wheeled_Wolf tweeted the council and said: “I suggest you remove this advice, we have every right to cycle into the site like every person driving. It is also discriminatory to those with disabilities or mobility issues as well as those with cargo bikes or trailers."

“I’ve taken refuse to the recycling centre for years without incident like I did last week,” he continued. “I suggest you change your car brain mindset on this as we have to cycle on the roads to get there and there’s no more risk cycling on your sites with drivers.

“Failing to change this and try stop me from accessing the recycling centre, I will seek legal advice on preventing access to a person with a disability using their cycle as a mobility aid.

“Honestly, policies like this shouldn't happen, shouldn't deter people taking refuse to recycling sites by cycles of any sort,” he added. “It should be welcomed and encouraged.”

https://road.cc/content/news/council-u-turn-ban-cyclists-recycling-centres-299051

On 02/02/2023 07:37 pm, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:

> A council has made a U-turn on a ban on cyclists being allowed into its recycling centres after it was widely criticised on social media over the policy, which had been slammed as “discriminatory.”

Fairy-cyclists weren't banned.

Only fairy-cycles were banned.

Avatar
ChuckSneed | 58 posts | 45 min ago
0 likes

Funny how recycling centres prioritise car users. Car users are the ones killing the planet and think they can atone by recycling their junk. They should have to pay to come in by car.

JNugent <jenningsandco@mail.com> wrote:
> On 02/02/2023 07:37 pm, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
>
>> A council has made a U-turn on a ban on cyclists being allowed into its
>> recycling centres after it was widely criticised on social media over
>> the policy, which had been slammed as “discriminatory.”
>
> Fairy-cyclists weren't banned.
>
> Only fairy-cycles were banned.

The LA were clearly concerned with people on the footpaths being knocked
down by cyclists, doubtless having seen or heard of their propensity to
collide with pedestrians in such circumstances. It’s a shame that the LA
backed down; perhaps some injured pedestrian will sue them.

--
Spike

swldx...@gmail.com <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:
> Avatar
> ChuckSneed | 58 posts | 45 min ago
> 0 likes
>
> Funny how recycling centres prioritise car users. Car users are the ones
> killing the planet and think they can atone by recycling their junk. They
> should have to pay to come in by car.
What do you think that would do to lessen the occurrences of one of the
bees in your bonnet, viz. fly-tipping?

--
Spike

Hampshire now has a booking system, and vehicles have to be registered for site access. All monitored by CCTV so charges can be issued for unauthorised vehicles.

https://road.cc/content/news/council-u-turn-ban-cyclists-recycling-centr...

Basically you just book with a reg number of BIKE and turn up. Naturally of course it's not that easy. You have to queue with cars and you can only visit once per booking. Oh and bookings have to be a day in advance.

I do have to give them credit though because like Essex there was a time when bikes were banned. Then they ran a limited trial, then it got banned again because COVID (which was the source of the booking system) and finally I think it's possible at every site.

Naturally of course they recommend you wear hi-viz!