THEY say you never fully appreciate what you've got until it's gone, and that feeling is now being felt by Muswellbrook and Singleton shire residents in regards to the local tip.
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While not the most fashionable location, it's an important one that lacks a direct substitute, that is of course unless you visit the waste management facility in a neighbouring shire - but that option has now been taken off the board.
Muswellbrook and Singleton Shire councils have closed their tips indefinitely calling a trip to the facilities 'non-essential travel'.
"Both the NSW Police and Area Health Service have confirmed that, except for health and hygiene reasons, journeys from a person's home to the Muswellbrook Waste and Recycling Facility and the Denman Waste Transfer Station are non-essential," stated a council spokesperson.
Kerbside collection services, better known as bin pickups, will continue as usual in those areas and officials are working through ways to accommodate locals who don't have access to that option.
The temporary suspension to domestic tipping has caused some to swarm to the Upper Hunter Shire (UHS), whose waste management facility is still open, however they are now getting turned away.
UHS council has begun checking the identification of those trying to enter the tip, and is rejecting residents from outside their region to allow more space for their own citizens' items.
Another reason behind their clamp-down is to protect workers, according to council general manager Steve McDonald.
"Do not come to the waste facilities unless you absolutely have to, you are an Upper Hunter Shire resident, and it is absolutely essential you get rid of the waste immediately," he said.
"Council hopes to reduce the numbers of visitors to the facilities, to just those without alternate waste services.
"This will help protect staff and the public from the risk of COVID-19 spread."
However, there is a significant change that has taken place in UHS, with green and bulky waste not being accepted.