All 14 Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRC) in Cumbria are reopening on Tuesday 12 May.

This follows updated guidance from the Government which states that a visit to a HWRC is acceptable under the current travel and social distancing measures but only where you can’t continue to safely store your additional waste and recycling safely at home.

Sites are expected to be busy in the first few days and weeks of reopening and wherever possible people should continue to make use of kerbside waste and recycling collections. A number of district councils have also restarted garden waste collections so this should help avoid an unnecessary visit to the HWRC site too.

Please be advised that if you do have to visit a HWRC that there will be a number of site restrictions in place which aim to keep both staff and visitors safe. Ideally only one person should attend, but if one additional passenger has to come, they must be from the same household. The HWRC operatives will also not be able to assist you as they would usually do. No vans, trailers or commercial type vehicles will be permitted access.

Please share this message with your friends and family too so that they also only take their waste to a HWRC at this current time if absolutely necessary. This will help prevent the sites being overwhelmed and help to keep everyone safe.

For the latest news and information follow the county council’s social media channels or visit https://www.cumbria.gov.uk/planning-environment/waste-management/default.asp