Barry's Recycling Centre could soon reopen if the Vale of Glamorgan council responds to a call by local government secretary Robert Jenrick.

The tip was one of the first services to be shut down by the council in March.

The decision prompted some criticism as residents feared it would lead to an increase in fly-tipping incidents.

However, the council made moves to increase black bin bag limits with residents now allowed to leave four out for collection every other week.

The council has had to remind residents throughout the lockdown to be careful with companies offering to remove waste.

They said: ''With many residents having house and garden clearances during the lockdown, it is important to remember that everyone has a legal duty to check that the person taking their waste away is registered to do so.

''Unfortunately, there is a small minority of waste collectors that choose to fly-tip waste, instead of disposing of it responsibly.''

On social media platforms in Barry, there have been reports of an increase in fly-tipping and dumping of waste items.

Vale Council Enforcement has been busy dealing with these issues and have fined those that they have found responsible.

The Vale Council's bulky waste service has also continued to run throughout the crisis and can be accessed here.

Yesterday, (Tuesday, 28 April) Mr Jenrick said he had written to councils telling them to plan to reopen tips and recycling centres.

"Our bin men and women have done a fantastic job maintaining the vast majority of collections," Mr Jenrick told the Commons.

"I'm asking councils to plan the organised re-opening of household waste collection sites. I expect this to happen over the coming weeks and will be publishing amended guidance shortly."

Residents have reported some increase in local flytipping.

The local councils association has said: "The government has now indicated that they want councils to re-open their centres and local authorities have already begun preparations to do just that in the coming weeks.

"This will not be without its challenges – requiring social distancing measures, traffic management and coordination across the country.

"Most importantly, there needs to be clear guidance to both the police and the public as to what constitutes an essential journey to a household waste recycling centre during the lockdown."

As well as shutting down the local tip, the Vale of Glamorgan Council also stopped the collection of garden waste for a short period.

However, after a couple of weeks, they announced that would be restored with the bi-weekly collections reinstated.

On April 18th Robert Jenrick also called for parks to reopen across the country. This was met with resistance by the Vale Council who have maintained the closure of parks across the area.