Bath and North East Somerset Council is reopening its recycling centre in Keynsham next week, but strictly for ‘essential use’ and only in cases where residents cannot safely store their waste at home.
The centres at Midland Road in Bath and Old Welton in Midsomer Norton will remain closed for now, as the council says social distancing measures cannot be maintained at these sites.
From Wednesday, May 27, the Keynsham recycling centre will reopen, but there will be strict rules in place.
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Journeys to the centre must only be taken if people are “unable to keep their waste and recycling at home without causing a risk to their health,” the council has stressed.
Unless residents fall into this category, residents must continue temporarily storing their waste and are encouraged to make full use of kerbside services including refuse, recycling, garden waste and bulky waste collections.
Only four cars will be allowed onto the site at any one time. The council is expecting queues to be significant so they are splitting access into odd or even number plates each day. Full information on this can be found on the council website.
Recycling centre staff will not be able to assist with unloading of waste. Only one person from each vehicle may unload unless specific assistance is needed with a large or bulky item.
Residents must follow social distancing guidelines.
The Keynsham centre will close temporarily if queues become unmanageable or staff are subjected to aggression, the council warns.
The facility will initially operate with extended opening hours of 8am-7.30pm Mondays to Fridays, 8am-3.45pm on Saturdays and 8am-1pm on Sundays.
The council’s social media channels and website will carry waiting time updates and residents should check the latest queuing times before making a journey.
Signs will be put up at the site to inform people how long their waiting time will be depending on their position in the queue.
Councillor David Wood, joint cabinet member for Climate Emergency and Neighbourhood Services, said: “We know that there has been high demand from residents for recycling centres to reopen as soon as possible and we have tried to mitigate the closures by keeping kerbside collections running normally.
“However, our key priority must always be to protect the health of our residents and our staff.
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“The only workable solution under current social distancing measures is to reopen our Keynsham centre strictly for essential use only, as it is the only site which operates with a one-way traffic system and has enough space to keep people two metres away from each other.
“Please only visit the site to dispose of your waste and recycling if storing it at home presents a risk to you, otherwise we must ask for your co-operation in continuing to keep it at home.
“We have a range of kerbside collections available so please use those wherever you can before thinking of making a journey to Keynsham.
“Like most other councils, we will need to limit the number of cars unloading at any one time so we would also ask for your patience and courtesy as our staff work hard to manage the very long queues expected. Thank you for your co-operation.”
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The council says it has followed government guidance to reopen the Keynsham site as it is the only one in the district that can safely operate within social distancing guidelines.
Centres at Midland Road in Bath and Old Welton in Midsomer Norton must remain closed as it is impossible to provide enough space for social distancing at either site.
An additional issue at Midland Road is that the site is shared with the refuse depot, meaning traffic queues could delay bin collections for residents.
The arrangements, including whether Bath and Midsomer Norton could reopen if social distancing measures are relaxed by the Government, will be under constant review by the council.
