Bucks recycling centres have been compared to “third world landfill sites” by frustrated residents as the county council admits there have been problems removing rubbish.

A number of people who have visited recycling centres across the south of the county – including Chesham and Beaconsfield – say rubbish is stacked “30 foot in the air” this week, with Bucks County Council blaming the hot weather, coupled with transport issues.

Howard Wood, who has lived in Chesham for 40 years and visits the recycling centre monthly, said the Latimer Road recycling site is “overrun” with rubbish.

He said: “It really is third world down there. The skips they have are overflowing. There are piles and piles of rubbish all around the site. Usually it is so clean and tidy.

“It is clearly going to be an environmental health issue here. It is disgusting. As a grandfather, it worries me because that place will be absolutely infested with rats.”

Mr Wood said after the recent hikes in council tax, the state of the recycling centres has added “insult to injury”.

He added: “A staff member at the site said they have had issues with drivers. It is getting out of hand because after the nice weather, people have been out in their gardens and are bringing a lot of waste to the site.

“I have been coming here for years every now and then and I have never seen anything like it before, it really is like a third world landfill site down there.”

Another resident who visited the Beaconsfield recycling centre on London Road raised concerns that the rubbish piles could be a fire hazard.   

She said: “There is rubbish piled 30 feet high in the air and cardboard. All it would take is a small fire or a spark and it would become a tinder box.

“The staff said they couldn’t get enough drivers. It is frightening – no one can believe the state it is in. and our council tax has gone up recently. It’s terrible.”

A spokesman for Bucks County Council said efforts are being made to get the sites cleared up after a busy period.

They said: “The recent build-up of recycling materials at Bucks Household Recycling Centres occurred because the arrival of warm weather meant there was a sudden increase in the number of visitors to the sites at the weekend.

“This unfortunately coincided on Sunday with unexpected transport issues, making the removal of the large volume of material from the sites even harder.

"Although materials did build up at a number of sites, staff are all trained in waste management and health and safety, and at none of the sites did managers deem it necessary to close for safety reasons.

“Every effort is being made to clear the back-log as soon as possible, whilst keeping all sites open. Although residents are still able to visit we apologise for any inconvenience caused."