Restricted Waste and Recycling Centres service during Coronavirus

Dundee City Council (DCC) is working with government, regulatory agencies, staff and residents in seeking to ensure that during this time of crisis, it can maintain critical essential services and keep our staff and members of the public safe.

The information below sets out the conditions for the use of the HWRCs to ensure regulatory conditions continue to be met and to ensure the sites can apply physical distancing measures during operational hours. The centres will be available for Dundee City Council residents only.

Scottish Government have clarified that residents can visit where absolutely necessary with the appropriate risk control measures in place as outlined below.

A core purpose for preventing further transmission of coronavirus is physical distancing. This requires that DCC enables residents to use HWRCs in a way that minimises transmission risk.

Most HWRCs are not set up to keep people separated. In fact, most require residents to move various materials from a vehicle to multiple points on the site using walkways and paths that are designed to channel people together into safe zones to protect the public from other moving vehicles.

Parking bays are often maximised to make the service as efficient as possible and to allow the maximum number of vehicles on site that can be safely accommodated. Further, DCC staff are trained and employed to help the public with their waste, either through advice or through physical assistance where required.

Changes are therefore necessary to ensure physical distancing measures are introduced and maintained. The following temporary changes will be introduced from (date) and will be maintained until further notice:

Opening hours

The revised opening hours for the household waste recycling centres are:

Baldovie - Monday to Friday 9am-8pm and Saturday to Sunday 9am-5pm

Riverside - Monday to Friday 9am-8pm and Saturday to Sunday 9am-5pm 

The opening times will be reviewed on a regular basis, and residents are asked to check the council website to see the most up to date opening hours

Additional staff will be utilised to aid direction, guidance and on-site health and safety.

Please treat our staff with respect at all times.

Both HWRC sites will not accept the full range of waste types until physical distancing measures are relaxed. The following specific types of wastes will be accepted during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak:

• General bulky/mixed waste;
• Garden waste;
• Wood;
• Metals;
• Rubble;
• Fridges & Freezers;
• Gas cylinders/bottles;
• Clothing & textiles;
• Batteries;
• Fluorescent tubes;
• Oil;
• TVs & Monitors;
• Soil & Turf;
• Cardboard, plastics, and glass cannot be accepted at the centres initially under the restricted capacity.

Facilities for disposing of paper & cardboard, glass and plastics are available at various recycling points across the city. The location of recycling points can be viewed on the council web site by following the link below:

https://www.dundeecity.gov.uk/service-area/neighbourhood-services/enviro...

In line with current restrictions, business waste is not accepted at the centres.

Residents are asked to note that only one person should unload the vehicle at any time.

The number of car parking bays will be reduced. This will be achieved by the use of identified zoned unloading areas (three areas at Baldovie and two areas at Riverside - please refer to the site layout maps).  A queuing system to access each centre will be introduced, and the number of vehicles on-site at any one time will be strictly enforced. It is anticipated traffic throughput will be reduced considerably which may result in queuing on and off site.

It will not be possible for DCC site staff to assist the public with heavy or bulky items and as such it will be necessary to preclude residents from bringing heavy items or bags to the sites that cannot be lifted by a single person. If a resident is unable to manage the item on their own (including throwing the item over the side of gantries), the item would have to be rejected and taken home.

Anyone in self-isolation or with COVID-19 symptoms must not visit the centres under any circumstances.  To protect DCC staff along with residents, it will be necessary to ensure DCC staff frequently wash or sanitise their hands and maintain social distancing.  Handrails/contact points will be cleaned during the day by site staff.  Additional temporary markings and signage will be utilised to assist residents with direction and guidance when using the sites.

HWRC sites are designed around deliveries of waste by vehicles. DCC recognises that there will be increased attempts to use the sites as a result of the extended closure. Sites are therefore likely to see higher demand than normal and at the same time the sites are more constrained due to the aforementioned measures being in place. Sites will therefore experience periods of congestion and queuing on adjacent public roads at peak times, and this may lead to lengthy delays.

Residents are asked to be patient whilst waiting to access the centres. Additional staff will be in place to assist with queue management.

Site access restrictions are in place.

The following vehicles ONLY are permitted access

• car;
• estate car;
• people carrier;
• MPV;
• 4x4;
• van; (with permit)
• pick-up; (with permit)
• mini-bus (8-11 seats); (with permit)
• a vehicle with a single axle trailer (with permit).

Vehicles NOT allowed on site

• commercial vans;
• a vehicle over 3500kg gross weight;
• a tipper;
• a vehicle with a twin axle trailer;
• a vehicle with more than 4 wheels;
• a vehicle or carrying commercial waste.

Pedestrians carrying waste would also not be allowed access to the centres.