Published Wednesday 6 May 2020 at 16:33
Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council is set to reopen its household waste recycling centres.
The Council has today announced it will reopen the sites in Blackburn and Darwen on Monday, May 18th – operating seven days a week to help cope with demand.
A new booking system will also be introduced help to ensure that social distancing can be adhered to and traffic around the HWRCs can be managed.
Councillor Jim Smith, the Council’s Executive Member for the Environment, said:
We’ve been working really hard to make sure we have everything in place so that when we get the green light to reopen our household waste recycling centres, we can do it quickly while prioritising the safety of our residents and the staff at the sites.
We’re testing our new system that will allow residents to book a time to visit either the Blackburn or Darwen sites and we’re going to be open seven days a week to help cope with demand.
We’ve also been making the necessary changes to make sure the HWRCs are ready – including linking in with the contractors who take the waste and recycling.
They need a short period of time to be able to get their own sites up and running and bring their staff who have been furloughed back to work.
The world we are now living in is very different to the one we’re used to and so we’ve had to make the necessary changes to make sure our residents and staff can adhere to social distancing and keep safe.
The new system will be available at blackburn.gov.uk and a go-live date will be announced next week.
It’s anticipated that the time slots will be released at intervals throughout the day to make it fair to residents.
Councillor Smith added:
We must remember that this is the worst public health crisis we have faced in a generation and we will be asking residents to only visit the HWRCs if they really need to.
HWRCs shut right across the country as part of the coronavirus lockdown.
The Council has been working with Lancashire County Council and Blackpool Council to ensure all sites across the county can be reopened around the same date.
Councillor Smith said:
We are working with our partners to make sure we can be back up and running as soon as possible.
For all the latest updates, please visit: www.theshuttle.org.uk or check the Council’s Facebook and Twitter pages.