Published Wednesday 29 April 2020 at 16:52
Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council is developing a new booking system to help support the re-opening of its household waste recycling centres.
The sites in Blackburn and Darwen were closed as part of the Government’s coronavirus lockdown, with trips not being classed as ‘essential journeys.’
Yesterday (Tuesday, April 28), the Communities Secretary, Robert Jenrick, told the House of Commons that he would be asking local authorities to plan the re-opening of the HWRCs over the ‘coming weeks’ with amended guidance due ‘shortly.’
The council has already been working on a new booking system that will allow the sites to re-open safely while protecting the health of residents and staff during the pandemic.
Councillor Jim Smith, the council’s Executive Member for the Environment, said:
I know that the announcement yesterday will be welcomed by those residents who have been calling for us to re-open the household waste recycling centres.
We want to reinstate our services as quickly and as safely as we can and we have been working hard behind the scenes to make sure we have everything ready to be able to get them back open as soon as the Government guidance is updated.
We’re living in a very different world now to the one we are used to and we will need to make changes to ensure we can comply with the Government’s guidelines introduced to help keep us safe, including social distancing.
As I have said throughout this situation, protecting our residents and staff remains our number one priority.
At the peak of the season, we can see more than 1,000 people flock to the HWRCs each day and we just won’t be able to safely allow that during this pandemic.
The new booking system would allow residents to schedule a 30 minute slot to be able to visit one of the two sites.
Councillor Smith added:
Almost all HWRCs right across the country remain closed and like us, those local authorities are waiting for the green light from Government to re-open.
We know that it has been difficult for some residents having the extra waste generated from more people being home and I’d like to thank them all for their efforts and support. It is greatly appreciated.
I’d also like to thank our fantastic bin crews who have worked hard and, despite the incredibly challenging situation, the collections have managed to run as normal.
This is a great achievement when other areas have seen their services significantly impacted.
The HWRCs contracts are run by Suez – who have redeployed their staff to help deliver food parcels for the Council’s new Help Hub – launched to support those residents struggling in the borough as a result of coronavirus.
Full details on the new booking system and the re-opening of the sites will be announced as soon as the Government guidance is available.
The council has re-instated its bulky waste collection service to help residents in the meantime.
You can find out more information at: Blackburn.gov.uk