South Tyneside Council Recycling Village to reopen
South Tyneside Council is gearing up to reopen its household waste and recycling centre (HWRC) on Monday 11 May for essential waste only.
Like centres across the country, the Recycling Village at Middlefields Industrial Estate, was closed in March in line with Government rules around social distancing, staying at home and avoiding all but essential travel. However, revised Government guidance has advised councils that they can reopen HWRCs, if social distancing can be maintained.
South Tyneside Council has been in detailed discussions with its waste contractor SUEZ Recycling and Recovery UK to look at how the site can be operated in accordance with Public Health England guidelines to help stop the spread of coronavirus and to protect the health and safety of staff and visitors.
The Recycling Village will now reopen with new rules and strict social distancing measures in place as the Council continues to deal with the impact of pandemic.
Councillor Joan Atkinson, Lead Member for Area Management and Community Safety at South Tyneside Council, said: "We fully appreciate that the temporary closure of the Recycling Village has placed extra pressures on households and we know that people are very keen to see this service back open again.
"We want to reassure our residents that we are working hard to implement safe working practices at the Recycling Village that enable us to meet social distancing guidelines and ensure the safety of both staff and site visitors when it reopens on Monday."
The new measures being put in place include initially limiting the types of vehicle and number of people who can visit at any one time to help protect staff and residents and observe social distancing rules.
The van and trailer permit scheme will remain suspended at this time due to site modifications, with only cars allowed on site initially. Only one person will be permitted outside their vehicle once on-site, unless the item is heavy then one other adult from the same household can help. People must also remain in their vehicle while queuing. Access for vans, pick-ups and trailers will be reviewed.
Once on site, visitors will be able to dispose of their waste at one of four new 'tipping zones'. Each tipping zone will be barriered off from each other, allowing for one car per zone to dispose of bagged general household waste, garden waste, wood and cardboard. Staff will not be able to assist the public with unloading.
To help manage demand and keep queues to a minimum, a car registration method of permission will be put in place. Registrations displaying an odd number will be permitted to visit on odd calendar days and those with even numbers will be allowed on even calendar days. For example, car reg AB29 CDE would be allowed visit on 1st, 3rd, 5th and so on. Car registration number FG86 HJK would be allowed to visit on 2nd, 4th 6th and so on.
On Monday 11th May, only odd numbered cars are permitted to attend. Other vehicles will be turned away.
South Tyneside residents may also be required to provide proof of residence.
The Recycling Village will be open seven days a week, with opening hours temporarily extended, from 8am to 8pm, for a minimum of two weeks.
As outlined in government guidance, under the lockdown restrictions a visit to the local HWRC would only be considered essential if the waste materials cannot be stored at home without causing risk of injury or harm to health.
Therefore, residents should only attend the Recycling Village for essential visits and only bagged general household waste, garden waste, wood and cardboard will be accepted at this time.
Councillor Atkinson said: "These are unprecedented times and completely new ways of working for everybody.
"We ask visitors for their patience and understanding as we put these new arrangements into practice and will be closely monitoring operations over the first few days and weeks to make sure the site runs as efficiently and as safely as possible. We will also be working with our partners to look at how we manage a potential phased return of more materials over the coming months.
"We also anticipate significant demand for the service and would advise visitors to travel to site as a last resort only to ensure the safety of both staff and residents.
"It is important that we all continue to follow the guidelines around staying and home and avoiding all but essential travel, with residents encouraged to store any additional recyclable, large furniture type items or green waste safely and appropriately at home wherever possible, until our Recycling Village operations return to normal and government guidance changes."
The Recycling Village Shop will remain closed at this time.
The Borough's household waste and recycling collections continue to run as normal.
The Council also continues to operate a Bulky Waste Collection service for larger household items and the Garden Clearance Scheme remains available to residents for the removal of items including DIY dismantled sheds and garden furniture.
For further information including the Recycling Village opening times and details of site rules and restrictions visit waste and recycling.
Regular updates will be provided on the Council's social media channels on Facebook: STynesideCouncil and on Twitter @STyne_Council