Preparations underway for phased re-opening of Highland Household Waste Recycling Centres

21st May 2020

The Highland Council is pleased to announce that preparations are well underway for re-opening many of the Household Waste Recycling Centres across the region to the public from Monday 1 June 2020. The sites in Highland, along with all other Scottish Local Authorities, have been closed since the end of March due to the government's Covid-19 restrictions on non-essential travel.

Councillor Allan Henderson, Chair of the 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 1st of June, 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 re-open 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 1st June, 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."

Further information about the re-opening of the sites will be available on the Council’s website next week along with Frequently Asked Questions. Details will also be published in the local press and via social media channels on a regular basis; householders should make sure they check the specific site opening hours and restrictions before travelling to the site.

Staff will be in place at the entrance to each site to speak with visitors and advise on waiting times and procedures on site. If a queue is too large, some vehicles may be turned away and asked to return later.

To help reduce the spread of the of Coronavirus site staff will be adopting robust hygiene standards. Householders are reminded not to visit the site if they are showing symptoms of Coronavirus. Strictly no commercial waste or recycling will be accepted.

Further information will be available by visiting: www.highland.gov.uk/recycle