Brits begged not to rush to their local rubbish tip when it reopens after long queues reported across the country

HOUSEHOLDERS are being urged not to rush to dumps when they reopen — amid concerns over long queues trying to get rid of lockdown rubbish.

Many waste and recycling centres closed because they could not be operated within social distancing rules and to allow councils to focus on household waste collections.

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Mercury Press

Mercury Press

But concerns have been raised over an increase in fly-tipping.

The Government has since said it wants to see councils reopen tips, with social distancing in place, but residents should only go if it is essential.

Greater Manchester is one of the areas where tips reopened.

Long queues have been reported and across the country residents are being urged by councils to avoid rushing to tips and to “reduce, reuse and recycle” their rubbish wherever possible.

The District Councils’ Network and County Councils’ Network have issued the warning as they fear a surge in demand.

They say nearly all councils have reported higher than usual levels of waste in recent weeks.

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Mercury Press

Mercury Press

Councils have seen reductions to their teams, as staff self-isolate and collections are disrupted by social distancing.

Dan Humphreys, of the District Councils’ Network said: “It won’t be possible for everyone to suddenly get rid of rubbish they have built up over recent weeks all in one go.”

Sam Corcoran, communities and environment spokesman for the County Councils Network, said: “We would encourage residents to only take a trip to their recycling centre if absolutely necessary.”

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