Recycling Centres work well during first week

Cheshire West and Chester Council re-opened its Household Waste Recycling Centres last week, with new operating methods to ensure all sites are following social distancing rules.

The HWRCs in Northwich, Neston, Winsford, Chester, Frodsham and Ellesmere Port reopened after the Government enabled travel to a HWRC to take place if storing waste at home is a risk to health and safety.

Councillor Karen Shore, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment, Highways and Strategic Transport said: “I’d like to take this opportunity to thank residents for thinking twice about their journey and also everyone who came to our HWRCs for following the social distancing rules and guidance from our staff.

“Please only visit if absolutely necessary and consider how essential your trip is before setting off.  We were able to cope with the queues last week but additional pressure could result in long delays at the sites.

"We received some wonderful compliments regarding our new operating procedures and I hope the usage levels continue to be manageable.  Safety remains a key priority and following social distancing guidance is essential.

“At the moment we can’t accommodate trailers as we need to move visitors quickly through the site to avoid queues.  Only cars can access the sites - no pedestrians, vans, trailers or commercial vehicles are permitted.  This will be reviewed regularly.”

The centres are open seven days a week, from 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday, and on Saturday and Sunday between 8am and 6pm. Opening times will be subject to review as the pandemic continues.

Due to its size and proximity to the highway Tattenhall HWRC will remain closed until further notice as it is not possible to implement social distancing guidelines and to manage expected queues on nearby roads.