And, the facilities will only be accepting “bagged general waste” with a warning from Manchester’s mayor Andy Burnham that this is “not a return to normal”.
Under the plans, centres across the nine councils will open including in Bolton, Manchester and Oldham, but facilities in Chester Road, Stretford, and Every Street, Bury, will remain closed until further notice.
Number plate
The Greater Manchester Combined Authority says it expects the facilities to be “extremely busy” so as a result it is introducing an odd and even number plate system to help it manage traffic and reduce queuing.
Under the plans, based on the last number of a number plate, residents will be restricted entry. On Saturday, 2 May, only residents who have a number plate ending with an even number will be allowed access. This will then alternate on a four-week rota.
Measures
Other measures include providing proof of address, limiting the number of cars allowed on site, and a ban on staff assisting residents in unloading waste.
Mayor for Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said: “Now that the government guidance has been updated, we have taken the collective decision to reopen some of our centres. There will be localised traffic management in place to control queuing, with each council taking steps to ensure that centres can reopen and operate safely.”
Mr Burnham asked residents to limit their journeys and only to travel to the HWRCs if it is essential, as the centres could close again if the situation becomes “unmanageable”.
Greater Manchester’s HWRCs are operated by Suez as part of a £1 billion contract announced last year (see letsrecycle.com story).
Reopenings
Meanwhile, a string of other councils across the UK have begun to announce that they will also be re-opening recycling centres with social distancing measures in place.
This comes after local authorities have been encouraged to consider re-opening HWRC’s as fly-tipping has been on the rise since the centres closed. There has previously been some debate over whether they should be considered essential, but following Defra advice to reopen them where social distancing measures can be adhered to, this now seems to be settled.
It also comes after local government secretary Robert Jenrick told councils to plan the “organised reopening of household waste collection sites”.
Other areas
Sites in Derbyshire, Hampshire, Wales and Northern Ireland have all discussed plans to reopen their sites with some form of social distancing in place.
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