Leeds tips to reopen as demand expected to be ‘extremely high’

Council-run tips in Leeds will reopen next week, it has been confirmed.
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Subject to further details this week from the Government regarding Covid-19 restrictions, a final decision on which household waste recycling centre (HWRC) sites will reopen will be announced ‘shortly’.

It follows pressure from opposition councillors who claimed the closures could lead to ‘chaos’ once the sites reopened.

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But the authority claims it will use a strict booking system in order to keep numbers at manageable levels.

Leeds City Council has announced household waste sites will reopen next week.Leeds City Council has announced household waste sites will reopen next week.
Leeds City Council has announced household waste sites will reopen next week.

A council statement conceded the need to manage traffic queues would be ‘a big issue’, adding that numbers would be restricted until further notice, and would be open seven days a week from 8am to 8pm.

Leeds City Council’s executive member for environment Mohammed Rafique said: “I want to reassure residents that we will reopen our household waste and recycling centres as soon as it is safe to do so. We have been working with neighbouring councils across West Yorkshire to coordinate our planning and to meet new government guidelines that we expect to be updated later this week.

“We know the coronavirus has presented a number of challenges in terms of how residents manage and dispose of their waste. I would therefore like to offer a big thank you to residents for their continued patience and support in these challenging and unprecedented times.”

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But critics claim some household waste sites should have remained open, and the recent shutdown could lead to a glut of service users once it reopened again.

Speaking last week, Coun Paul Wadsworth, the opposition Conservatives group’s environment spokesperson, said: “Other councils such as Sheffield have kept their recycling centres operating for residents throughout, showing it can be done. Yet here in Leeds we are still causing inconvenience to residents and potentially stockpiling chaos for when the recycling centres reopen.”

With demand expected to be extremely high, residents will be asked to only dispose of waste that is ‘absolutely necessary’.

Further details and updates regarding the reopening of a number of Household Waste and Recycling Centres, and how to book a time slot for a visit once they reopen, will be provided on www.leeds.gov.uk, through Twitter on @LCCNews and the Leeds City Council Facebook page.