Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council

If you’re living in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole areas, and have been having a bit of clear out, you will be relieved to hear that three household recycling sites are to re-open on Monday 11 May.

The sites at Nuffield, Poole and Millhams Bournemouth will have extended opening hours, and together with Wilverley Road in Christchurch, will be open from 9am-6pm.

A bit of a rush is expected on Monday, with long waiting times, so residents are advised to only make a visit if it is absolutely essential. When visiting the sites, you must display ID showing proof of address.

Social distancing will be maintained 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.

All existing access policies are in place including the van permit scheme and only one person 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. 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.

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, “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.

“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.

Dorset Council

In line with Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, and other authorities, Dorset Council is to open 9 of its 10 household recycling centres (HRC) next Monday 11 May.

However, the authority says that to avoid long queues, householders should only take waste to a HRC if it cannot be stored safely at home or there are no alternative options available.

Social distancing measures will be in place and there will be additional security staff to enforce restrictions. The re-use areas will remain closed. HRC staff will not be able to assist with carrying items.

Household waste should be double bagged and left for 72 hours before being taken to the HRC. Bring a maximum of two waste types such as garden waste and black bag waste.

Most recycling centres will be open from 9am to 6pm daily, except Sherborne which will remain closed due to highway safety concerns.

Someone will be in place at the entrance to each site to speak with visitors and advise on waiting times and procedures on site. If a queue becomes too long, some vehicles may be turned away and asked to return later. Traffic management plans will be in place to help reduce disruption on the local highways as much as possible.