Recycling: Plan ahead for visits to recycling centres over the May Bank Holiday weekends

Nottinghamshire County Council is expecting recycling centres across the county to be busy over the three-day Bank Holiday weekends due to the warmer weather and the trend in rising visitor numbers over similar weekends in previous years.

All 12 recycling centres across the county are open every day from 8am until 8pm and visitors are advised to take advantage of quieter times between 8am and 10am and 6pm and 8pm when the sites are generally much quieter.

Those planning visits this weekend are also being asked to check that they have registered their vehicle(s) to use recycling centres and to make sure that registration has taken place through the county council’s website before setting off: https://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/waste-and-recycling/recycling-centres/using-our-recycling-centres/register

Other advice from the council includes checking online which items are accepted and how much waste you can take to Nottinghamshire’s recycling centres. Please remember that sites do not accept trade waste. Information on items accepted can be found on the county council’s website: https://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/waste-and-recycling/recycling-and-disposing-of-waste/check-what-you-can-take-to-our-recycling-centres

Anyone thinking of visiting a site over the weekend is also urged to think about whether any electricals, batteries or vapes could be recycled during their visit as part of a county-wide campaign to avoid these items being placed into household recycling and general waste bins, where they can cause fires.

Visitors should look out for the pink signage at Nottinghamshire’s recycling centres where batteries, vapes and electricals can be placed, or seek advice from site staff on arrival.

Councillor Bert Bingham, Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment at Nottinghamshire County Council, said: “As we look ahead to the upcoming Bank Holiday weekends, we’re expecting that many residents across Nottinghamshire may be spring cleaning or gardening and may wish to use our network of recycling centres.

“In previous years, we’ve seen an increase in visitors to our sites at times like this and there’s a few things that residents can do to help ease delays and keep things moving.

“All sites are now open for 12 hours a day until September and so we advise timing your visit for earlier in the morning or later in the evening to avoid busy periods.

“It’s great that so many Nottinghamshire residents are thinking of recycling and our website has lots of information about which items you can take to our sites. We advise having a read of this before setting off to make sure that you’re not bringing items with you that aren’t accepted.

“With a busier period ahead, it’s also a good time for us to remind everyone that our sites are for domestic waste only and that we do not accept trade waste.

“We’re also keen to appeal to anyone planning a visit to one of our sites this weekend who may have old batteries, vapes or electricals at home. If this is the case, make sure to bring them with you and look out for the pink signage at our centres.

“Batteries, vapes and electricals can cause fires when placed into household recycling or general waste bins and so we’re raising awareness that bringing these items to our sites is the safe way to recycle and dispose of them.”