Preparations under way for phased reopening of Highland household waste recycling centres
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Highland Council says preparations are well under way for the reopening of recycling centres to the public from June 1.
The sites in Highland, along with all other Scottish local authorities, have been closed since the end of March due to restrictions on non-essential travel.
Councillor Allan Henderson, chairman of the council's communities and places committee, said: “I know how much the Household Waste Recycling Centres are valued by the public therefore I am pleased that we are taking this next positive step along with the rest of Scotland to get them open as soon as is practicable.
"The re-opening of the HWRC’s will require a phased approach with strict controls to ensure social distancing is adopted and that the anticipated increase in visitor numbers can be managed.
"The first phase will see only cars being accepted and site users will be restricted to depositing bagged household waste as well as loose garden waste."
He continued: “From Monday, June 1 the sites are likely to look and feel very different to what people are used to and will not be operating as business as usual.
"In the initial phase the opening hours of all the sites will also be revised to ensure staffing levels can be maintained.
"Delays and queues are expected at all sites when they first reopen and I would like to take this opportunity to urge the public to visit the sites only if it is absolutely essential and that the waste or recycling cannot be picked up by the kerbside collections or stored safely at home.
“Not all of our Household Waste Recycling Centres in the region will be ready to reopen on June 1 as we are experiencing staff absence and we need to make changes to sites to be sure they can be operated safely and efficiently so that we do not put our staff or anyone using the centres at risk.”
The council will provide further information about the reopening of sites on its website next week.
Details will also be published in the local press and via social media channels on a regular basis.
Related article: Easing of Covid-19 coronavirus lockdown to begin in Scotland next week
