Published Wednesday 13 May 2020 at 10:19
Residents from across Blackburn with Darwen can now use the new household waste recycling centre (HWRC) booking system.
The move comes ahead of Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council reopening the two sites on Monday (May 18th).
The new system, which will be available by ringing: 01254 585585, will allow residents to book a 30 minute slot to visit the Blackburn or Darwen HWRCs.
It has been introduced as part of measures to help keep residents and staff safe during the coronavirus pandemic.
An online booking system will be available later this week.
Martin Eden, Director of Environment and Operations at the council, said: said:
We’ve been working hard to get the new booking system up and running and we’ve been testing it rigorously.
Due to the size of our two sites, we need the system in place to be able to reopen and manage the number of residents visiting.
This is to ensure that we can adhere to the social distancing guidelines and it will also help manage the amount of traffic around the two sites.
The time slots will last for 30 minutes each and we will continuously review how many people we can accept during that time.
What would really help is if residents could please separate their waste and recycling before they visit so they can quickly unload.
We also want to minimise the risk for our residents and staff as much as we possibly can and so are asking people to wear gloves and follow the strict hand washing guidelines.
Last week the Government updated its guidance and said councils could reopen HWRCs where it was safe to do so.
Councillor Jim Smith, Executive Member for the Environment, added:
We are living in a very different world to what we’re used to and I’d like to thank all of our residents who have been managing their extra waste at home. I know this has been difficult for some – particularly those with large families.
I’d also like to thank our hard working bin crews who have collected an extra 500 tonnes of waste in recent weeks – the same as more than 40 additional bin wagon loads!
Due to their superb efforts, our bin collections have continued as normal which is astounding during this current situation.
What I would ask now is that residents are please patient.
We are expecting a huge demand on the booking system initially and it may take some time to be able to secure a slot, but we are doing everything we can under the circumstances.
The HWRCs will be open 7 days a week to help cope with the initial demand with one day a week being for permit users only – those with vans and cars with trailers and those people disposing of construction waste using their inert waste permit card.
These will fall on the days that the two sites usually close – Tuesday for Darwen and Wednesday for Blackburn.
The other six days will be ring-fenced for residents in cars only.
Applications for new permits and renewals has been temporarily suspended.
Cllr Smith said:
We must remember that we are still in the midst of a global pandemic – the worst public health crisis in our lifetimes.
We are urging residents to only visit the HWRCs if they really need to – if they can’t safely store their waste at home.
Those who are on the shielding list or have symptoms of coronavirus or are living in a household that is self-isolating should listen to the advice and stay home.
You can read more about the new booking system and new measures in place in this new guide to frequently asked questions.
The booking system will go live on Thursday, May 14th.
Please ring: 01254 585585.
For the latest updates, please visit: theshuttle.org.uk or follow the council on Facebook and Twitter
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