Civic Amenity Sites in the north, east and west of the Isle of Man all suffered unscheduled closures during December 2023 due to severe weather conditions.

But what is the criteria that needs to be met in order for these sites to be closed? Is there a specific wind speed that needs to be reached or a certain amount of rainfall to cause flooding?

Iain Jackson, the assistant chief officer for environment at Douglas City Council, said: ‘During the festive period, a number of the civic amenity sites had to close and this appeared more prevalent recently due to the inclement weather we’ve all experienced.

‘When civic amenity sites take the decision to close, this is not done lightly and the relevant supervisor will take into account a number of factors, not just wind speed.

‘They assess what is happening on site in relation to public safety, which is their priority.

‘When the Eastern Civic Amenity site has to close, staff remain safely on site breaking down items and keeping it tidy wherever possible to ensure it reopens as soon as weather conditions permit.’

Michael Rose, the manager of the Western Civic Amenity Site in St John’s, said: ‘During a week in December, the eastern site in Braddan was closed for five of the seven days.

‘Our western site is quite sheltered, so we don’t suffer as much with the high winds unless it comes from an easterly direction.

‘We do suffer from flooding issues at the main entrance from the Curragh Road, but this is a Department of Infrastructure issue.’

Mr Rose confirmed that there are three main causes of closures to the sites - wind, rain (causing flooding) and ice/snow.

He said: ‘With regards to wind, our criteria is if it’s too dangerous to lift items above railings or the bins, then we would need to temporarily close the site.

‘On the other hand, if the site gets too flooded and the pumps cannot cope, then we would need to close the site to let them catch up. This was the case last week, as the water was starting to encroach into the reuse bays.

‘If it rains and then freezes overnight, we sometimes need to delay opening until we have chance to re-grit the site, although we do try to pre-grit the evening before. If it snows heavily (which is very rare, roughly twice in 15 years), we would need time to clear the snow from the roadways and walkways.

‘We also close on all bank holidays, and this is to keep the running costs as low as possible.’

Steven Bevan, from Ramsey Town Commissioners, said: ‘At our northern site in Balladoole, we always assess on the day whether the site is acceptable to open or not.

‘We have a device to measure wind speed, and if the speeds are exceeding 25 miles per hour then we won’t open the site due to safety concerns.

‘Even if the site is closed, we still have staff that stay on the site in case the weather conditions improve and we are able to open the site later in the day.

‘It’s also useful to have staff there in case the DoI come to collect sandbags for flood prevention across the island.

‘We will also close the site if there is flooding in the area that we deem to be unsafe.’

Another topic of concern to these sites on the island is residents from other regions coming to use the tip when their local tip is closed.Commenting on the issue, Mr Bevan said: ‘We don’t ask or recommend to people that they can come to use our site if theirs is closed, but it is known to happen.’

Mr Rose also commented: ‘When the other sites close it creates a lot of hassle, as residents from other areas just want to throw everything into the “energy for waste” skip when we normally make everyone separate their waste. We also do not allow food waste into our site, as it is a part of the waste licence.

‘It’s a myth that anyone can use any site, as each site is funded by the rate-payers in that area.’

The one site on the island that did not suffer any closures between Christmas and New Year in 2023 was the southern Civic Amenity Site in Port St Mary.

Jason Roberts, the clerk of the southern site, said: ‘Each site on the island will have its own criteria for closing.

‘For the southern site, we need a minimum of two staff, so in cases of sickness it might be necessary to close if we cannot get staff cover.

‘Regarding weather, wind is the main issue faced by sites due to waste materials and loose items blowing around the site.

‘The daily supervisor assesses the weather and contacts the clerk with any concerns to discuss.

If the site is deemed as a danger to site users, then the decision is taken to close. This is typically reviewed once or twice during the day.’

Meanwhile, the southern Civic Amenity Site has also recently announced the closure of its re-use area at the end of 2023.

In a statement published online, it reads: ‘Due to budget challenges, changes in staffing arrangements at the site and the board’s desire to continue to support local businesses by operating a trade waste service, the continuation of providing a reuse area is unfortunately no longer a viable option for the site.

‘Along with a marked increase in broken, dangerous, as well as chargeable items being hidden within the reuse area, the amount of staff time required to maintain and manage the area is no longer deemed to be the best use of the site’s limited resources.

‘The board is in discussion with a local charity to identify any opportunities for accepting reusable items from the site.’