WCC News Release: Household Waste Recycling Centres' booking system goes live

Warwickshire County Council has confirmed that it will be operating a booking system to ensure that social distance can be safely maintained when the majority of its Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) reopen on Monday (May 18).

The council announced its plans to reopen all HWRCs except those at Stockton, Shipston and Wellesbourne last week. Reuse shops will not reopen at this time.

In order to do so safely while maintaining safe social distancing, officers will need to control the number of vehicles on site at any one time, so customers are being asked to book a 15 minute slot via an Eventbrite link on the council website at warwickshire.gov.uk/hwrc

Car registrations will be checked before arrival at the site entrance. Any vehicles that have not booked a time slot will be asked to drive on without being allowed into the site. It is therefore important that customers make sure to use the same car that was registered in the booking.

Customers are also being urged to consider whether their trip is absolutely essential and should only visit HWRCs if the waste cannot 'be safely stored at home and is presenting a hazard' in line with Government guidance.

Customers should expect differences in traffic management arrangements around the site entrances and differences within the sites in terms of parking layout and container availability. Pre-sorting waste will mean a faster and safer visit to the site.

Cllr Heather Timms, portfolio holder for Environment and Heritage and Culture, said: "We are really pleased that we can reopen our household waste recycling centres, as we know how important the service is to our customers, but we have to do so safely. Limiting the number of vehicles on site at any one time is the only way that we can do this.

"We urge people to only attend HWRCs if they have made a booking, not only to keep the numbers at a manageable safe level at the centres but also to ensure that there are not vehicles making unnecessary or fruitless trips and adding to congestion around the centres.

"While this is not as full a facility as we would normally provide, it is a testament to the huge amount of hard work that has gone into taking a step, safely, towards our usual services and getting the county moving forwards again. We will continue to work to develop the offer and look forward to making it available more widely as soon as it is safe to do so."