Council urges Lancashire residents to consider delaying recycling festive waste as bosses forecast delays at waste centres

Lancashire County Council is appealing to residents to consider delaying a visit to their local recycling centre over Christmas and New Year as they’re expected to be even busier than usual due to the pandemic.
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Recycling centres are always very busy at this time of year as people generate more household waste than usual during the festivities, however this has been amplified due to the coronavirus restrictions causing people to spend far more time at home.

To help cope with any extra demand, some of the smaller recycling centres which are usually closed on two weekdays will be opening between Christmas and New Year.

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However the council’s message remains to make best use of normal household waste collections, and if people have extra waste to dispose of, delay visiting until later into the New Year if they can.

Longridge waste recycling centre is one of several across the county which will see its opening housr extended over Christmas and new yearLongridge waste recycling centre is one of several across the county which will see its opening housr extended over Christmas and new year
Longridge waste recycling centre is one of several across the county which will see its opening housr extended over Christmas and new year

Due to the expected high demand there will be no appointments available for vans or trailers to visit the recycling centres between December 27 and January 3,2021.

All Household Waste Recycling Centres will be closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. The larger sites will continue to open seven days a week as usual. Barnoldswick, Burscough, Carnforth, Clitheroe, Haslingden and Longridge are usually closed on two weekdays, but will now also be open from Monday, December 28 to Thursday, December 31.

County Councillor Albert Atkinson, cabinet member with responsibility for waste management, said: “Our recycling centres are usually very busy after Christmas and into the New Year as people want to recycle the extra waste which they generate over the festive period, and visitors can usually expect queues at this time of year.

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“However there’s the potential for even greater pressure on our recycling centres this Christmas due to the pandemic and people generating even more household waste, particularly due to the restrictions on the hospitality industry, and the increase in home deliveries.

“We’re therefore asking people to make best use of their usual household waste collections, and check on any changes to collection days over the festive period, and if they still have extra waste which they want to bring to a recycling centre, to delay their visit if they can.”

The following restrictions on the way the recycling centres work are still in place due to the pandemic.

People are asked to only bring one type of waste per visit. Visitors cannot walk freely around the site as they usually would. This is because the sites have been reconfigured to ensure social distancing, and people are asked to drive up to the particular skip they need.

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• People cannot bring construction and demolition waste, also known as inert waste, and plaster, plasterboard or asbestos, and the usual permit system allowing people to bring limited amounts of this waste is not operating.

• People need to be able to carry their waste from their vehicle to the skip as staff will not be able to help.

• People must not visit if they have any symptoms of coronavirus or should be self-isolating.

You can find out more, including full details of opening times for recycling centres, at lancashire.gov.uk/waste.