Residents thanked for support over reopening of recycling centres

Residents have been thanked for their patience and support for staff after 10 of Surrey’s community recycling centres reopened this week.

There has been a steady stream of visitors to the sites since they reopened on Monday, with up to 100 cars an hour passing through the busiest CRCs in Camberley and Shepperton.

And while initial queues have been clearing, the sites are still expected to be very busy over the weekend.

To support social distancing, numbers of people who can be on each site at a time have been reduced. But to help residents pass through the sites quickly, they can only take black bag waste and garden waste. Opening hours have also been temporarily extended.

Residents should check for the latest information before they travel at surreycc.gov.uk/recycling or by calling 03456 009 009.

Mike Goodman, Cabinet Member for Environment and Waste, said: “I would like to thank residents for their patience when they’ve had to queue, and for the gratitude they’ve shown to site staff since our CRCs reopened.

“We’ve had to balance the importance of social distancing to protect staff and visitors, with the need to help residents clear the backlog of waste. The numbers of visitors who have successfully passed through our CRCs is as a result of the hard work of staff at both the council and our contractor Suez.”

The smallest CRCs in Bagshot, Caterham, Cranleigh, Dorking and Warlingham remain closed. This is because these sites can’t operate safely and ensure social distancing between visitors and staff.

Work is continuing on how to start returning the CRCs to a near-normal service.

Mike Goodman continued: “We know residents are still holding onto waste and recycling, and we’re looking at ways we can start accepting all materials again. Social distancing is likely to be a factor for some time, so the safety of visitors and staff will continue to be our priority.”