A NUMBER of household waste recycling centres across Greater Manchester will reopen from Saturday 2 May, with some restrictions and new measures in place to protect the health and wellbeing of residents and staff during the coronavirus pandemic.
At last week’s Greater Manchester COVID-19 Emergency Committee, the nine councils that make up the Greater Manchester Waste Authority agreed to reopen some recycling centres. The decision was taken in accordance with Government guidelines and is based on staffing, accessibility, and the agreement of traffic management plans with local authorities. Reopening is being carefully planned and managed, with the involvement of Greater Manchester Police (GMP).
Among the criteria being taken into account are staffing arrangements at waste disposal facilities operated by SUEZ, with more staff deployed to handle the increased volume of waste and recycling picked up during household bin collections.
Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said: “I want to thank the people of Greater Manchester for their patience while these facilities have been closed. At every stage of this process we’ve taken decisions based on the official guidance, which has been about limiting non-essential journeys and reinforcing the Stay At Home message.
“Now that the Government guidance has been updated, we have taken a 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.
“While we are reopening centres, this is not a return to normal. We would ask the public to limit their journeys and only travel to a household waste and recycling centre if it is absolutely essential to do so. If the situation becomes unmanageable we may have to reassess this decision, but that is not something we want to do and, I hope, will not become necessary. Let’s everyone stay safe and look after each other at this difficult time.”
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