Wednesday 29 April 2020
The Household Waste & Recycling Centre (HWRC) at Longue Hougue will reopen this Thursday, with extended operating hours but restrictions on what items can be dropped off.
The Household Waste & Recycling Centre (HWRC) at Longue Hougue will reopen this Thursday, with extended operating hours but restrictions on what items can be dropped off.
The site has been temporarily reconfigured so islanders and staff can observe social distancing guidelines, which is limiting the materials that can be accepted.
It will only be open for materials to be dropped off for recycling, but will include the most common items. These are:-
- Scrap metal
- Rigid plastics
- Small electric items, incl. computers
- Inert waste (e.g. bricks, stone, ceramics, etc.)
- Blue and clear kerbside recycling bags
- Bulky cardboard
- Glass bottle and jars
- Food waste
- Domestic appliances
Staff will be unable to take any payments. Therefore general rubbish and other items that can normally be dropped off and paid for, such as wooden furniture, beds, and mattresses, will not be accepted until these can be safely managed.
Similarly, items in good working condition that are suitable for reuse will also not be able to be dropped off, so islanders are being encouraged to keep hold of these where possible.
Households that bring items not currently accepted will unfortunately be asked to take them away again.
The site has been shut since 24 March, after restrictions were introduced on all but essential journeys. To help deal with the backlog, operating hours are being extended to include Thursday, when the facility would normally be closed.
Opening times will be 8am to 4pm Monday to Saturday, and 8am to noon on Sundays. It will be closed on Bank Holidays.
As with the long queues seen earlier this week at the Chouet green waste site, the HWRC is expected to be very busy for at least the first few days after reopening. Staff will be directing traffic, and there will be a limited number of customers allowed in at any time.
Guernsey Waste is therefore requesting Islanders only visit the site this week if they are not able to keep hold of their materials any longer to enable them to cope with the demand.
Site staff will not be able to assist in unloading vehicles, to ensure social distance is maintained. Large or heavy items, such as domestic appliances, goods should only be brought to the site if they can be safely unloaded by those delivering them. Anyone visiting the site can be accompanied by someone from the same household.
Guernsey Waste, Operations Manager, Sarah Robinson says:
"We have had to reorganise the site to ensure social distancing measures can be adhered to and this has required us to limit the types of items accepted. Items that are bulkier and more difficult to store such as scrap metals and rigid plastics have been prioritised over those smaller in nature and therefore easier to keep hold of for a bit longer.
"We are also unable to accept items that require payment at this stage, although that should assist with turnaround times. We will keep operations under review and will allow the acceptance of further materials when it is safe to do so."
Bring bank sites remain closed at this stage and islanders are encouraged to make full use of the kerbside recycling scheme. There is also no limit to the number of general waste households can set out, provided each one has the appropriate payment sticker applied and is not too heavy for the collection contractors to lift.
