Hot weather leads to wasps at Norfolk recycling sites

And, the council has also said that it plans to have installed wasp traps at all 19 of the centres by tomorrow (August 18) in a further bid to keep the wasps at bay.

In a statement, the local authority explained that its Sheringham and Hempton Recycling Centres had been particularly affected by hundreds of wasps after being attracted by sugary residues found in bottles and cartons in the recent spell of hot weather.

Dan Jacobs, household waste officer at the council, told letsrecycle.com that “I have never seen anything like it,” adding that “I guess its just one of those years”.

He also suggested that the problem might also be linked to the affected sites' locations, explaining that “with recycling centres being in rural sites there might be nests nearby”, highlighting the fact that the council's site in Norwich, a more urban area, hadn't seen the same problem.

Mr Jacobs explained that the problem had first been brought to the council's attention by local residents and that it had begun the process last week of installing the traps – which are made up of a conical glass containing pesticide, tied to the centre fences with string – at the worst-affected sites.

And, he revealed that those sites with the traps installed did appear to have seen a drop in the number of wasps.

Councils

Mr Jacobs also said that, while he was not aware of any other councils who were facing a similar problem at the moment, he said he would be “amazed” if it wasn't an issue other local authorities faced during periods of hot weather.

As well as the traps and its requests for local residents to wash bottles and cartons before bringing them to the sites, Norfolk county council has also asked visitors to stay calm and not panic around the wasps, and has said that it staff will continue to monitor the problem.