Council working on plans for a safe reopening of recycling centres

Bridgend County Borough Council is working alongside Welsh Government and other local authorities to develop an all-Wales approach for the safe reopening of community recycling centres.

It follows the recent Welsh Government announcement on changes to lockdown requirements and the temporary closure of recycling centres across Wales last month as part of efforts to combat the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.

Using an all-Wales set of criteria, the centres will only reopen once the council and its waste partner Kier are satisfied that there are adequate staffing levels and procedures in place to maintain the health and safety of workers and residents alike.

While the council is keen to restore the availability of community recycling centres as quickly as possible, we will only do so once all relevant partners are satisfied that the all-Wales criteria has been met and there are no risks to the continued safety and well-being of people using or working at our local sites.

We are looking at temporary arrangements which will help ensure this, and will be making further announcements very soon.

Deputy Leader Hywel Williams

Councillor Richard Young, Cabinet Member for Communities, added: “The pandemic has had a significant effect upon staffing levels and the recycling sites were closed for several reasons, not least of which was so that we and Kier could ensure that weekly recycling and waste collections could continue without disruption.

“The time is now right to look at how we could restore safe access to the sites, and I hope that people will work with us as we seek to ensure that this can continue to be done while keeping staff and residents safe in the face of the ongoing pandemic.”