Long queues at green waste site after winter opening changes
There were long queues at the green waste site at the weekend, with the busiest Saturday so far for the new site.
Cars were reportedly queuing back beyond the crossroads and having to wait for over an hour at the busiest times.
It happened on the first weekend of the new winter opening times, which means the site is now only open on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays.
Guernsey Waste operations manager Sarah Robinson confirmed that there had been high volumes of traffic over the weekend.
‘Particularly on the Saturday, where we had the highest number of cars to the site compared to any other Saturday since the new site opened earlier this year,’ she said.
‘By comparison, the Sunday was just below the average that we normally see through the site on a Sunday.
‘We believe this is due to the unusually warm weather in recent weeks, which has encouraged many islanders to tend to their gardens before winter sets in.
‘This was also the first weekend of our new winter opening hours and followed half term, which we acknowledge may also have been a factor.’
When the site was based at Chouet, it was open throughout the winter. But with the restarting of quarrying in the area, a new, custom-built site was built beside the landfill site.
At the same time the opening times were reviewed, and when the new site opened earlier this year, it was open into the early evening during the summer, but the winter opening times were cut back sharply.
Until the clocks change again, the site is only open on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays.
‘Our opening hours, which were agreed when the new site opened earlier this year, are designed to align with seasonal demand, with extended hours during the summer when usage is higher,’ said Mrs Robinson.
‘For instance, following the move to a new site, we are open on Sunday afternoons and bank holidays in the summer months.
‘Our opening hours during the winter reflect the need to keep operational costs down when site usage is historically low.’
She added that data on use over the summer would be reviewed to assess further improvements.
The site is open 10am to 4pm on Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays until 30 March, when it will revert to summer opening times.
