Home Local News Trial for new type of recycling service in Garstang

Trial for new type of recycling service in Garstang

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A new type of waste facility in Garstang will allow residents to dispose of items which have a resale value, or could be recycled or reused, as well as get rid of extra garden waste.

However, it will not accept general rubbish.

Lancashire County Council has given the go-ahead for the Community Recycling and Re-use Centre (CRRC) which will be run in partnership between the council and a local charity which reconditions and sells used goods.

The primary focus of the service will be to accept good quality items that can be sold, re-used of refurbished, such as furniture and electricals, or wastes such as plastic bottles, metal and textiles that have a value and can be resold to help offset operating costs. In addition the facility will accept garden waste to assist with a need for extra facilities of this type in the area.

A further aim of the project, to be run on an open-ended trial basis, will be to develop links with the local community, provide training and employment, and maximise the social benefit of waste received across the whole of Wyre.

It will be established on the site of the former Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) on Brockholes Way at Claughton on Brock, but will not accept general rubbish or many of the types of waste accepted at HWRCs so should not be considered a like-for-like replacement for the previous facility.

County Councillor Janice Hanson, cabinet member for public protection and waste, said: “One of the key recommendations of the cabinet working group set up to look at gaps in our existing waste services was to provide an extra service for people to recycle more and be able to compost more garden waste in Wyre.

“We’ve taken the opportunity to look at a new way of doing things outside the scope of the existing HWRC service and I hope people will welcome and make good use of the Community Recycling and Re-use Centre when it opens in the summer.

“A whole recycling industry has been established in recognition that our society can’t afford to continue throwing so much away, and as a result a lot of waste is now seen as a valuable resource which can be reused, recycled and reconditioned.

“There will be two elements to the new service, with the main focus being on accepting waste which has a value and can be resold to help offset operational costs. The facility will also provide a separate service allowing people to dispose of garden waste.

“However, it won’t accept everything the previous HWRC did, so should not be seen as a direct replacement.”

The service model aims to provide as wide a range of services to the public as possible while keeping operating costs to a minimum, which is why the focus is on accepting items with a value but not those which need to be disposed of or for which we have to pay to recycle, and would therefore add significantly to the cost of providing the facility.

The county council has identified three local charities which are already working in Wyre and could provide the recycling, refurbishment and reuse element of the facility. The council will now work towards appointing one of the organisations as its partner for the duration of the trial.

The other elements of the facility will be operated by the council’s own waste management service.

The county council will use the trial of this new type of service to establish whether the model of partnership with community organisations is effective and affordable, and could be replicated elsewhere in Lancashire.

The estimated set-up costs of around £60,000 will be accommodated within the council’s existing waste budget. Annual operating costs are estimated to be around £50,000, with the sale of recyclables expected to bring in around £26,000, resulting in a predicted annual net operating cost of around £24,000.

The county council is working towards opening the facility in June and will make further announcements in due course.

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