Following the opening of half of North Yorkshire’s household waste recycling centres (HWRCs) on 6 May four more sites are due to open on Thursday (14 May).
The next four household waste recycling centres to reopen are:
- Leyburn, Shawl Quarry Lane, Leyburn, DL8 5LA
- Burniston, Burniston Road, Scarborough, YO13 0DA
- Settle, Sowarth Field Industrial Estate, Settle, BD24 9AB
- Tholthorpe, Flawith Lane, Tholthorpe, YO61 1SG
All 20 of the County Council’s HWRCs closed temporarily in March in response to Government restrictions to protect the public during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Following the opening of ten sites, arrangements have been put in place to be able to reopen a further four sites across the county. All sites have been structured to operate within the guidelines and maintain the safety of the public and centre staff.
For safety reasons, the remaining 6 sites (Northallerton, Ripon, Malton, Tadcaster, Harrogate (Stonefall) and Wombleton.) cannot be opened at this time because of their size, layout and difficulty with highway safety, but this will be reviewed continually with a view to opening more as soon as possible.
Cllr Andrew Lee, Executive Member for Waste Management, said:
I am pleased that we continue to move forward, and thank residents for only visiting the sites when they feel it is essential. The 10 HWRCs that re-opened on Wednesday 6 May have managed to operate well with new controls to keep the public and staff safe. We would like to remind residents that we are currently unable to accept trailers or commercial customers at any of the sites.
We want the sites to work as efficiently as they can, while prioritising the health and safety of residents and our staff.
Social distancing must be observed, with people remaining at least two metres apart at all times.
Hand sanitising facilities at sites are limited, so people are advised to wear gloves on site and are reminded to wash their hands before and after attending an HWRC.
Please visit the website for all the details regarding opening times and days. Restrictions are in place for some vehicles and types of waste so please check before you set off.
So, whilst Wetherby Road is relatively quiet, and will never be this quiet again, it’s still not yet time to reopen Stonefall?
Let’s wait until more people have accumulated more waste and need to visit the tip, more are travelling on the roads to take their exercise out of town, more are returning and driving to work, more shoppers returning to Sainsbury’s to do their own shopping, more commercial traffic is on the move and consequently the roads are busy again. And then they’ll reopen the tip, complain about the traffic levels and queues and declare how right they were not ready to open it up again sooner!