West Berkshire Council household recycling centres set to reopen

Press Release Date: 12 May 2020

West Berkshire Council’s Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) are set to reopen to allow residents the opportunity to dispose of waste and recycling that cannot be safely stored at home. This follows publication by the government of updated guidance indicating that visits to recycling centres can be considered essential under certain conditions.
From Thursday 14 May both of our recycling centres, which are located at Newtown Road in Newbury and Padworth Lane, near Aldermaston, will be reopened. The sites were closed temporarily on 24 March following announcements by the government of lockdown restrictions. In order to manage demand, a booking system is in place and you will not be able to simply turn up at the recycling centres.
The booking system will be live on the morning of Wednesday 13 May and residents need to book their appointment here: https://citizen.westberks.gov.uk/clickandtip.
When the recycling centres reopen, and to stay within the government's Covid-19 guidelines on essential travel, please remember that journeys to these sites during lockdown should only be made if waste cannot be stored any longer at home without causing a risk to your health and safety. The sites will be open seven days a week from 9:00am to 6:00pm, with the last booking appointment available at 4:30pm.
Working with Veolia, who are our waste contractors, precautionary measures will be introduced to help maintain social distancing on our sites for our residents and staff protection. We will also implement a robust traffic management plan which will help us minimise impacts of traffic congestion on the local road network and to control the number of visitors to the site at any one time.
Residents need to book an appointment and be prepared for the possibility of long queues. We are advising delaying a visit until things are a bit quieter in a few weeks’ time or to only visit if you cannot safely store waste at home for the next couple of weeks. Our kerbside waste collections for recycling, rubbish, the garden and food waste subscription scheme and chargeable kerbside bulky waste collection service is still operating normally and residents are advised to make use of them, wherever practicable, in the meantime.
Councillor Steve Ardagh-Walter, Executive Member for the Environment at West Berkshire Council, said: “In line with Government guidance, the decision to reopen the recycling sites has been a priority for the Council.  
“Staff at the recycling sites will ensure that social distancing guidelines of keeping at least 2 metres apart are adhered to. Therefore we urge all visitors to please be patient and leave plenty of time for their visit.
“The two sites that are reopening will be open from 9:00am to 6:00pm, seven days a week, and we intend to make as many appointment slots as possible available via the Council’s website. Please be patient if you don’t manage to get a booking initially due to high demand. We will collect as many of the typical household waste types as practicable at the sites when they reopen.
“With the reopening of both sites, it means that anyone with accumulated waste, that cannot safely be stored, can now dispose of it properly. Please remember to only use the sites if you have a valid booking.
“We are grateful to our residents for their patience and continued cooperation during these challenging times.”
Making your visit run smoothly
The experience of visiting our household recycling centres will be different and you should only visit the recycling centres if you cannot safely store your waste at home.
Please ensure you:

• Have booked an available appointment online: https://citizen.westberks.gov.uk/clickandtip – this will available from Wednesday 13 May in the morning.
• Check online to see if all waste materials can still be taken to the site.
• Check the site layout when loading waste into your car. Use these site maps to help you when packing your vehicle: https://info.westberks.gov.uk/recyclingcentres.
• Check travel times and any restrictions in place. Please arrive at your allocated time that you have booked online and not any earlier. There may be delays accessing the site and possibly queues of waiting vehicles. Please bear with us as we work safely on the site to limit contact between people.
• Have your permit, or ID and proof of West Berkshire address with you.
• Have a copy of your booking confirmation with you - either a print out or on your phone.
• Only bring what you can physically carry as we are operating a one person per car restriction - our staff cannot help with your waste when you are unloading your vehicle. Under exceptional circumstances only, and at the sole discretion of site staff, two people may be allowed to leave the vehicle to dispose of the waste e.g. if they are removing a heavy or bulky waste item.
• Follow the instructions that site staff will give you and also be polite to members of staff.
• Observe the social distancing measures in place by keeping at least 2 metres apart at all times when visiting the recycling centres.
• Follow Public Health England guidance - residents who are vulnerable, or who are showing symptoms which may indicate Coronavirus, should not visit household recycling centres.

For more in depth information, please read our FAQs.
West Berkshire Council