PR 1677
COUNTDOWN TO NEW RECYCLING CENTRE
The countdown has begun to the opening of Winchester's new Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) which opens its gates to the public next month.
The new site at Bar End will replace the current HWRC in Garnier Road on 15 December, creating the biggest and best HWRC in Hampshire.
A new centre is needed because the Garnier Road site has only temporary planning permission until the end of next year. The site is now too small for the heavy usage it receives, and vehicle access is difficult. This site will close permanently at 4.30pm on 14 December.
The new site opens at 8am on 15 December, and is located at the southern end of Bar End Road, near the park and ride car parks. It features an innovative circular split-level design allowing the bins to be serviced without having to temporarily close the site. It will be quicker and easier to use, with improved vehicular access and approximately double the number of parking spaces, along with all the usual HWRC facilities such as bins for recycling different items, a site hut and a sales area.
Hampshire County Council's Executive Member for Environment, Councillor Keith Estlin, said: "This will be a flagship site for Winchester, and for recycling in general throughout Hampshire. It's one of several new infrastructure developments coming on line in the county which will help consolidate Hampshire's nationally recognised position as one of the best in the UK for waste management and recycling.
"Despite its limitations, the Garnier Road site consistently recycled above the Hampshire HWRC average of 53 per cent. The new site with all its improvements should more than exceed this."
The opening times will be the same as the current site, which is 8am - 4.30pm from 1 October to 31 March, and 8am - 7pm from 1 April to 30 September. It will be open every day, except 25 and 26 December and 1 January.
ENDS
Notes for Editors
The new Winchester HWRC will be able to recycle bulky household items (fridges, cookers, washing machines), green garden waste, metal (ferrous and non-ferrous), newspapers and magazines, cardboard, glass bottles and jars, soil and rubble, plastic bottles, food and drink cans, furniture, bric-a-brac, hazardous household waste (gardening products and household chemicals), household batteries, fluorescent light tubes and bulbs, textiles, wood, used engine oil and car batteries.
A leaflet will be available in the County Council Information Centre, local libraries, and at the Garnier Road site from 24 November 2004.
For further information please contact: Sarette Martin on 01962 847666 sarette.martin@hants.gov.uk