Keynsham recycling centre re-opens.

B&NES say it is re-opening under the following terms:

• Journeys to Keynsham recycling centre must only be taken if people are unable to keep their waste and recycling at home without causing a risk to their health.
• Unless residents fall into this category, residents must continue temporarily storing their waste and are encouraged to make full use of kerbside services including refuse, recycling, garden waste and bulky waste collections.
• The Keynsham centre will close temporarily if queues become unmanageable or staff are subjected to aggression.
• Only four cars at a time will be allowed onto the site.
• Residents will be permitted to visit the Keynsham site for essential visits on a day allocated to them based on their vehicle’s number plate as queues are expected to be significant. Full information on this can be found at https://beta.bathnes.gov.uk/keynsham-recycling-centre
• The Keynsham centre will initially operate with extended opening hours of 8am-7.30pm Mondays to Fridays, 8am-3.45pm on Saturdays and 8am-1pm on Sundays.

The council’s social media channels and website will carry waiting time updates and residents should check the latest queuing time before making a journey.

Signs will be put up at the site to inform people how long their waiting time will be depending on their position in the queue.

Councillor David Wood, joint cabinet member for Climate Emergency and Neighbourhood Services, said: “We know that there has been high demand from residents for recycling centres to reopen as soon as possible and we have tried to mitigate the closures by keeping kerbside collections running normally. However, our key priority must always be to protect the health of our residents and our staff.

“The only workable solution under current social distancing measures is to reopen our Keynsham centre strictly for essential use only, as it is the only site which operates with a one-way traffic system and has enough space to keep people two metres away from each other.

“Please only visit the site to dispose of your waste and recycling if storing it at home presents a risk to you, otherwise we must ask for your co-operation in continuing to keep it at home.

“We have a range of kerbside collections available so please use those wherever you can before thinking of making a journey to Keynsham. Like most other councils, we will need to limit the number of cars unloading at any one time so we would also ask for your patience and courtesy as our staff work hard to manage the very long queues expected. Thank you for your co-operation.”

The council has followed Government guidance to reopen the Keynsham site. It is the only one in the district that can safely operate within social distancing guidelines.

Centres at Midland Road in Bath and Old Welton in Midsomer Norton must remain closed as it is impossible to provide enough space for social distancing at either site. An additional issue at Midland Road is that the site is shared with the refuse depot, meaning traffic queues could delay bin collections for residents.

The arrangements, including whether Bath and Midsomer Norton could reopen if social distancing measures are relaxed by the Government, will be under constant review by the council.

Recycling centre staff will not be able to assist with unloading of waste. Only one person from each vehicle may unload unless specific assistance is needed with a large or bulky item.

Residents must follow social distancing guidelines.

The number plate system is consistent with the system used by Bristol City Council and North Somerset Council.

Follow us on social media for recycling centres updates and updates on waiting times: twitter.com/bathnes  facebook.com/bathnes

More information about the council’s recycling services can be found here https://beta.bathnes.gov.uk/find-recycling-centre

Updates on all council services can be found at www.bathnes.gov.uk/coronavirus

For your further information.

All three HWRC’s have been considered for their suitability to implement effective social distancing measures for both staff and members of the public.

Welton and Bath HWRC’s are both small sites and a cul-de-sac layout and under normal circumstances suffer from on-site congestion at busy times.  Even with reduced numbers of vehicles on-site, at the moment it would not be possible to put in place sufficient space between the parking area and containers to allow a 2m social distancing gap, whilst maintaining suitable space for safe vehicle manoeuvring by the public and to keep staff at a safe distance.

An additional issue at Bath is that as the site is shared with the refuse depot and transfer station, any queues would impact on our own collection vehicles, and commercial customers being able to access the site to dispose of waste.  Queuing traffic on the main Upper Bristol road is always of significant concern to the police.  The police must assist in moving the traffic on the main A road at busy times, which puts an additional burden on public services.

Pixash Lane HWRC is the only site which operates a one-way traffic system, which lends itself, with modifications on-site, for a 2m distance to be set up between parked cars and the waste containers.  The number of cars on-site unloading at any one time would need to be limited to 4/5 initially whilst social distancing measures are reviewed to ensure they are effective.