Wednesday 22 April 2020
Islanders will be able to drop off their garden waste again from next Monday (27 April 2020), and certain other recyclables from next Thursday (30 April).
Extra drop-off sites will provided for garden material, in addition to the normal Chouet green waste, to help manage the initial peak that is expected and reduce travel requirements for islanders.
Special measures will be in place to ensure islanders can adhere to the current social distancing guidelines.
Staff will be on hand at Chouet and at a new temporary drop off point at Longue Hougue. They will manage traffic flows on site, and appropriately distanced drop off bays will be in place.
It is intended to have two other unmanned drop off points in the south of the island, and the locations will be confirmed later this week.
The three temporary sites will operate for two weeks.
The Household Waste and Recycling Centre (HWRC) at Longue Hougue will also reopen on Thursday 30 April, but with restrictions and measures will be in place to ensure the safety of customers and site staff.
It will only be open for islanders to drop off scrap metal, rigid plastics, electrical equipment and inert waste. There will also be a limit on the number of customers allowed onto the site at any one time.
Items that can disposed of via the kerbside collections, batteries, domestic appliances or those that need to be paid for, such as black bags, wooden/material furniture, mattresses, will not be accepted. This is because the site has to be reorganised, so that islanders can safely drop off the materials that are being maintained.
Items suitable for reuse will also not be able to be dropped off at this stage. Islanders are being encouraged to keep hold of these items for the time being.
The green waste site and HWRC have been closed for the past five weeks, since restrictions on all but essential journeys were introduced to help slow the spread of COVID-19
Guernsey Waste, Operations Manager, Sarah Robinson says:
"We know many Islanders have been busy in the garden during the lockdown, and will be pleased to be able to drop off green waste again. They will also be pleased that the HWRC will reopen, even though for now we are having to limit what can be brought to site.
The safety of islanders and our staff is paramount, so these measures are necessary in order for us to reopen the sites. We would ask everyone visiting to respect the rules and directions in place from staff and site signage.
We have carefully chosen the items that we can accept at the HWRC, to those that are more difficult to keep hold of due to their size and nature, and for which there is no kerbside collection. We will keep operations under review and will accept other materials when we can do so safely."
The Chouet site will be operate its normal opening hours (8am - 4pm Monday to Saturday and 8am -noon on Sundays), and those will also apply to the temporary drop off point at Longue Hougue.
The HWRC will have the same opening hours, including Thursdays, when it is normally shut. That is to assist with the extra demand.
Queues are to be expected and that site staff will be unable to assist them in unloading their vehicles. Guernsey Waste would encourage anyone who can hold on to items for a little longer to avoid using the sites for the first few days, to help manage demand.
