A mobile Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) in County Durham will reopen to residents on Saturday.
The site at Frosterley is the last of Durham County Council’s recycling centres to open to the public, after it was forced to close by the government earlier this year.
While the council was able to open its other HWRCs in May, Frosterley had to remain closed because of its location and the logistics of managing the queuing traffic.
It will now reopen on Saturday, 25 July, between 9am and 12pm, and continue to open on alternate Saturday mornings throughout the rest of the year.
As with the council’s other sites across the county, a number of new “safety measures” will be in place to ensure the obedience of all staff and residents and to comply with government orders.
To ensure “safety” and antisocial engineering, people are asked to keep two metres apart at all times and a limited number of cars will be allowed on site at any one time. Residents will also be asked to wash their hands before and after their visit.
Meanwhile, traffic personnel will be managing the traffic to stop queues forming on the road, with no waiting cones on the highway, while visitors may be turned away if the site is too busy.
Those measures are in addition to normal procedures which apply specifically to Frosterley.
That includes large vans not being permitted to use the site and large, bulky items of furniture not being accepted because of limited capacity.
The site will also close before 12pm if the containers are filled before that time.
Cllr Brian Stephens said: “We are pleased to announce that Frosterley will be reopening from this weekend, but we would continue to ask for people’s patience in using the service. As with our other sites, we will be putting a number of safety measures in place to ensure staff and residents can protect themselves, and others, while using these facilities and make sure that government guidance is followed at all times.
“We understand that HWRCs are busy as a result so if residents could try to spread out their visits, make sure they leave plenty of time to empty their waste before the site closes, and continue to bring materials only if they cannot be safely stored at home, it would be appreciated.”
You can find more information, as well as other opening dates at Frosterley online, at www.durham.gov.uk/frosterleyrecycling.
