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Published on Wednesday 06 May 2020

All three Household Recycling Centres (HRCs) across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole will re-open on Monday (11 May) under revised operating plans to protect residents and staff.

BCP Council’s sites at Nuffield and Milhams will have extended opening hours, with all three HRCs open to the public seven days a week from 9am – 6pm:

  • Millhams, Bournemouth, BH11 9LQ;
  • Wilverley Road, Christchurch BH23 3RU; and
  • Nuffield, Poole, BH17 0RS

All three sites are expected to be extremely busy from Monday with long waiting times, so residents are advised to plan ahead and only make a visit if it is absolutely essential. When visiting the sites, residents must display ID showing proof of address.

In line with government guidance, social distancing will be maintained on site at all times, which means the sites will operate in a different way to normal. This will include permitting only a limited number of cars into each site at any one time, creating considerable waiting times for residents wishing to use the site, to ensure social distancing rules are upheld.

All existing access policies are in place including the van permit scheme and only oneperson should be in each vehicle that visits an HRC, so residents must only bring items they can remove and dispose of themselves (Blue badge holders can bring someone to assist them). Due to social distancing, staff on site will not be able to assist residents with unloading or disposing of their waste and payment for certain waste including soil, rubble and plasterboard, (and asbestos) should be by card, preferably contactless.

In addition, traffic restrictions will be put in place at each site, with temporary signage on the roadside directing traffic. If queueing traffic becomes dangerous, the HRC may need to close to eliminate the problem.

Councillor Felicity Rice, Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change, BCP Council commented:

"In line with government guidance we are reopening our Household Recycling Centres for residents who cannot safely store their excess waste at home, but we are stressing that residents should only visit the site if absolutely necessary.

"We had to close HRC’s on public safety grounds as part of our effort to ensure social distancing to protect the NHS and save lives – as well as the fact that trips to the HRC were not listed as an essential reason for travel in the government’s lockdown regulations. This temporary closure has enabled us to redeploy our staff to respond to the national emergency and maintain other key frontline services such as waste collections.

"We know residents have found the closure of HRC’s challenging and it’s clear all three sites will be very busy when they do re-open, so we’re asking people to only go to the recycling centres if it is absolutely essential.

"We have had to change the way we operate our HRCs and the sites are likely to be very busy. Our frontline teams will be working hard to ensure the sites remain open during these difficult times but cannot help residents directly as social distancing rules must stay in force.

"The staff working at the HRC sites are there to provide a safe place for residents to use this service and I would stress the importance of treating all our staff with the respect they deserve and remind residents that any abuse towards them will not be tolerated."

The re-use shop at Wilverley Road, Christchurch and the new to you shop at Nuffield, Poole will remain closed, with commercial waste remaining closed as well.

For more information, including the traffic restrictions that are in place, please visit www.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/recycling

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