Warrington’s community recycling centres (CRCs) will remain closed until further notice.
The decision to keep the three centres – at Woolston, Stockton Heath and Gatewarth – closed, as the national lockdown continues, will be kept under continuous review.
Council leader, Cllr Russ Bowden said: “We closed our community recycling centres, in line with government advice at the start of the lockdown, as it was made clear that people should stay at home and only leave for certain essential reasons.
“We understand that the centres are a valuable service. We initially intended to keep the CRCs open during lockdown, but many residents made trips to the centres for non-essential purposes. This resulted in huge queues at some of our sites and we could therefore not guarantee the safety of visitors and staff on site.
“Our kerbside bin collections are still fully operational and we are continuing to collect all three waste streams across the borough. I’d like to ask that residents continue to use their bins, packing them properly, to avoid any extra bags of waste, and ensure your bin is out on your usual collection day.
“The decision of when to re-open the CRCs is under continuous review and will be considered against the need to minimise non-essential journeys, maintaining social distancing to ensure the health and safety of our staff working at the sites, and the current kerbside collection provision provided to residents.
“Coronavirus, lockdown and the recycling centres being closed are no excuse for fly tipping. We need residents to stand with us against this scourge in our community, and we will be actively investigating and taking the necessary enforcement action in all cases.”
Due to the government measures in place, spending more time at home means we’re all making more waste. To ensure there is no need for separate bags of waste from your normal bins, make sure you collapse waste fully by squishing boxes, cartons and plastic bottles, and please ensure you put the right materials in the right bin.
For the latest information on coronavirus in Warrington, including changes to services, please visit warrington.gov.uk/coronavirus.
