Progress to bring Raynesway Household Waste and Recycling Centre (HWRC) back into operation is well underway.

The site will be available for residents – who have no other means of disposing of waste – with a number of practical measures put into place to ensure Government safety guidance is still adhered to.

The most significant change is that residents may not turn up at the site as they previously did. A free booking system will be in place to ensure safety of customers and site staff. A time and date must be booked before driving to the site.

This will be done through MiPermit, an online system currently used by the Council for parking payments in the city. This will be the first time MiPermit has been used for HWRC bookings in the UK. A phone number will also be available for those who are unable to book online.

If a time slot hasn’t been booked, people will not be granted entry, and will be turned away. Turning up without a pre-booked slot will inevitably cause delays for those with an existing booking.

There have been a number of challenges to overcome to bring the site back into operation. One is how to ensure the Council’s usual bin collections are maintained, as refuse vehicles use the same road as vehicles visiting the HWRC. This means that traffic caused by people visiting the site could prevent us from emptying bins, causing disruption to all residents. We ask residents not to turn up at the site before it has opened each day.

To minimise possible disruption to usual bin collections – which should be used as the first option for waste disposal – the site’s opening hours will be revised, along with additional measures that have been put in place:

  • the number of people allowed onto the site at one time will be limited so that social distancing is maintained
  • Where possible, only one adult from each household should visit the site.
  • Two people from a household can visit together if they are bringing large waste items such as a fridge freezer or sofa.
  • Staff on-site will not be able to help to unload items for the vast majority of visitors – this is so we can maintain social distancing. However, help will be available for those that genuinely need it and you can ask.

Councillor Jonathan Smale, Cabinet Member for Public Protection and Streetpride said:

I know a lot of people will be pleased to see the site back up and running, but we need people to use this as a very last resort.  Government guidance is clear that HWRCs are to reopen if it’s safe to do so. Please remember that if you turn up without booking, not only will you cause delays for those who have, you will also be turned away from the site, so please, do not visit without booking first. If the system is correctly used, there will be minimal queues, and people should be able to safely use the site.

We all need to work hard to reduce our waste as much as possible – and whilst it may seem to be the perfect time to do some DIY or have a clear out, please do consider whether this is essential.

If the site is misused, the Council will be forced to close, so please consider other options – if you can store items safely at home, then you should do that. If you’ve got garden waste, please consider using the free garden waste (brown bin) service or home composting first – both are far better choices for the environment, and garden waste collections resumed on Tuesday 5th May.

Bulky Waste Collections are available to book through our website. You could also hire a skip or book a collection from a licensed waste carrier to dispose of waste.

The reopening date will be announced later this week. Please do not try to visit the site before then.

Further details about what you must do before being allowed to visit Raynesway HWRC is on our website.