Household Recycling Sites to Reopen – But Not Kibworth
The good news for many residents is that on Monday 18 May Leicestershire County Council will be re-opening seven of their fourteen Recycling and Household Waste Sites (RHWS).
This will provide one re-opened recycling site per district so that people don’t have to travel too far.
Only the recycling sites that are easiest to manage, in terms of social distancing, ease of managing queuing traffic and keeping people safe, are being opened. The County Council have also had to ensure sites are safe for residents and staff. At some of our older sites, such as the Kibworth tip, where you climb up steps to use the bins, it is extremely difficult to maintain social distancing, so Kibworth has been omitted for now.
Why were they closed?
Under Government regulations in relation to Covid-19, a trip to a waste recycling site wasn’t classed as an essential trip, so they have all been closed until the government relaxed the regulations in early May to permit visits to the tip to be classed as essential.
The seven recycling sites across the county being re-opened are Barwell, Lount, Market Harborough, Melton Mowbray, Mountsorrel, Oadby and Whetstone. They will be open seven days a week from 9am to 5pm.
Readers may have seen the chaotic scenes from Manchester a week or so ago with hundreds of cars queuing. In order to help control this, the tips will only be available for Leicestershire residents, and in order to control the number and timing of people taking their household waste, an online booking system will be in operation from 13 May.
This must be used to book 15-minute slots in advance via the LCC website, or people can phone Customer Services on 0116 305 0001. Car registration numbers, Leicestershire addresses and names will be needed. The authorisation details can then be displayed. using your smartphone or a piece of paper, on arrival for the staff to check your 15-minute slot. Warning – no authorised slot and you will be turned away.
Recyling Sites – Harborough & Oadby
The nearest two RHWS to Kibworth are the one on Riverside in Market Harborough, and the one off the B582 between Oadby and Wigston – next to the Leicester Tigers Oval Park Training Ground. Both have a system where you can drive up a slope and throw your waste down into the bins.
I have asked for a clear sign outside the Kibworth site to indicate these two are the alternatives while the Kibworth tip remains closed.
The council tips will only be accepting stored waste if it is becoming unsafe at home and at risk of causing injury, illness or harm. This includes general and garden waste, wood and some hardcore. The key thing is your safety – if waste is piling up and it isn’t safe, then take it to a site – but if not, keep it at home.
It is also an opportunity to think differently about how you deal with your waste, so for example if you’re having a clear out, bear in mind that charity shops need our support when they re-open so hold on to things to donate, and if people have green waste, then think about investing in a compost bin or starting a compost heap in the garden.
Kevin Feltham
12th May is Mass Observation Day
