by Wickhambrook Parish Clerk
The household recycling centres in Suffolk will be opening on Thursday this week – but you will have to pre-book your visit.
This appointment-only system is necessary to help reduce traffic disruption and queueing on roads around the sites and help manage additional demand on the waste sites. There are also new temporary restrictions and guidelines in place at all sites to support the safety of staff and members of the public.
The booking service opens Tuesday at 3pm: see details below
The booking service will be live from 3pm Tuesday 12 May, with the first appointments being made for Thursday.
To make a booking, please visit www.suffolk.gov.uk/recyclingcentres or call 0345 606 6067.
In order to control the queues residents without a booking will not be able to enter the site. Residents must not arrive on site more than 5 minutes before their allocated time.
Those who are shielding or at greatest risk of Covid-19 should continue to follow Government guidance and not visit a Recycling Centre. There will be a phased approach to opening the sites fully in order to ease congestion and prioritise residents. There will also be a set of new temporary rules, which residents must check before arriving at the sites.
During phase one, these temporary rules include:
- No access to site without pre-booking
- Cars and pedestrians only – no vans, trailers or commercial-type vehicles
- One adult to unload, unless 2 adults needed for heavy items
- No staff assistance to unload vehicles
- No chargeable waste accepted (soil, rubble, hardcore or plasterboard)
- No trade waste
- No textiles or re-use items accepted
The booking system is designed to support social distancing by ensuring that only a safe number of visitors can access the sites at any one time. It will also help reduce waiting times for visitors and manage traffic to avoid a dangerous build-up of cars on the highway.
Any waste you have which is contaminated or suspected to have being contaminated with COVID 19 must be double-bagged and kept at home for 72 hours before it is brought to site.
Suffolk County Council will be reviewing the temporary rules each week, but will only be able to move towards the normal way of operating the sites when it is safe to do so.
Road closures for Recycling centres: To support the click and recycle services at Recycling Centres across Suffolk, road closures will be installed at the following locations from today (14 May 2020) – Foxhall Road, Ipswich; Sir Alf Ramsey Way, Ipswich and Bury Road, Fornham St Martin.
The sites are operating by blocking out every other parking bay to maintain social distancing. they have been busy but not overwhelmed and residents have got on to site, offloaded their rubbish and left again in 10 minutes. To find out more or to make a booking, please visit www.suffolk.gov.uk/recyclingcentres or call 0345 606 6067.