Falkirk's recycling centres re-open on Monday - what you need to know

Both sites, at Kinneil Kerse, in Grangemouth Road near Bo’ness, and Roughmute, in Bogton Road near Bonnybridge, will be opening their gates up to residents from 8am on Monday, June 1.

A Falkirk Council spokesman said: “We are ready for the re-opening and looking at all ways of reducing the anticipated demand from the public. Traffic management systems will be in place ensuring the health and safety of our staff and visitors whilst on site.

“Social media will be used to highlight peak visitor times enabling people to pick the quieter times which may suit. Quick drop facilities and staff will be on hand to direct and assist to speed up process.

“We are proposing to have both sites open to the public seven days of the week, from 8am to 6pm, to smooth demand for this service. This will be reviewed after the initial two weeks of re-opening.”

The council is urging people to be patient and only go to the local recycling centres if absolutely necessary when they re-open on Monday.

They are warning people should be prepared for long queues to use the tips as high demand combined with strict social distancing rules makes it a slower process than usual.

Residents are also being told to take ID with them to prove they live in the Falkirk Council area.

The centres will open from 8am to 6pm – with last entry at 5.45pm – seven days a week, from June 1 to June 14, but these opening hours will be reviewed after that date.

“We are doing everything we can to ensure our recycling centres re-open safely and in line with Government advice,” the council spokesperson continued. “There will be significant queues expected throughout the day and we urge everyone to seriously consider if their journey needs to be made at this stage.

“Our advice is only to visit a recycling centre in the first few weeks if it is essential and this should only be for excess waste which cannot be stored safely at home and disposed of through the normal kerbside collections.

“It hasn’t been possible to provide a booking system and we feel this could have potentially disadvantaged those who hadn’t pre-booked. Ultimately we are all trying to get back to a normality and would ask everyone to be patient, kind and respect the health and safety of staff and visitors alike.”

Residents are reminded they can also use the council’s bulky uplift service as well as recycling points located throughout local communities.

There will also be a quick drop facility at the recycling centres which allows the quick deposit of certain materials without driving through the whole site.

A limited number of vehicles will be allowed access at one time, so residents are advised to load their car in the order they will deposit the waste on site. While the sites will accept all materials, staff will not be able to assist people with any unloading due to issues of social distancing.

The council advises people to wear disposable gloves and bring hand sanitiser for use after unloading, washing hands as soon as possible when they return home.

If you or someone in your household is showing symptoms of coronavirus, stay at home and do not visit a recycling centre.

Temporary traffic arrangements will be in place and the council expects sites to be busy, with queues forming from the early morning onwards. Site rules will be in place to ensure social distancing measures can be followed at all times.

If you are a van user and require a household waste permit, staff will take your details and process it while you are in the queue.

Staff will be on site to guide you to the correct bays and ensure everyone remains safe.

Visit www.falkirk.gov.uk/recyclingcentres for more information.