It sounds like a joke, but from today, Monday 9 May, you will need to take two forms of identification before you are allowed to take rubbish to the Chigwell Road tip recycling centre.
You will need to take a council tax bill AND your driving licence, though the FAQ on Redbridge-i indicates there might be some flexibility if you haven’t got the document for some reason. Failing that, though, if you don’t have both there will be a £10 charge for a car-load.
It seems that drivers will have to provide the ID before they enter the site – rather than there being spot checks – and so there is clearly a chance of queues forming. However, the council site says that the reason the ID checks are being introduced is that lots of people from outside the area are using the tip – and so the amount of traffic going there will, they hope, be cut.
One Wansteadium reader Wendy said: It seems ridiculous to me, and surely guaranteed to increase fly-tipping, but also very annoying if you turn up after the 9th May without your ID
• From today, cardboard can be included in the blue household paper recycling boxes.
I can understand the rationale behind this, though they only took a cursory glance at my driving licence when we visited on Saturday. Didn’t ask for the council tax bill.