From next Friday, Kent County Council’s Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) will open to the public for essential use.

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On Wednesday, May 13, people will be able to book a slot to use one of the county’s 18 HWRCs which closed on March 23 as a result of the Covid-19 lockdown.

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People can book a slot either online or by phone for the opening on Friday, May 15 - details on how to book will be released next week.

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KCC Cabinet Member for Environment Susan Carey said: “I know how valued our waste and recycling sites are to the people of Kent and I am immeasurably proud of the work our waste team has put in to getting these sites reopened.

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“The booking system, which was developed by Medway Council, is crucial to ensure we can keep visitor numbers at a level where social distancing can be maintained and minimise queuing.

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“Our focus over the last few weeks has been in ensuring kerbside collections provided by district and borough councils continued, and our teams were redeployed to support those crews.

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“Kerbside collections across Kent are now all, or about to be, fully reinstated by the districts and boroughs, including garden waste services.”

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The sites will be open to the public between 9am and 3pm to allow for enhanced cleaning.

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Most sites will be open seven days a week and will accept all types of waste including chargeable items.

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Susan added: “Government advice is that residents should continue temporarily storing their waste at home, if they can do so in a way that doesn’t pose a risk to their health.

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“If, however, waste and recycling cannot be stored at home without causing risk of injury, health or harm, please book a trip to your local HWRC.”

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Residents can only book one trip in any four-week period to allow all residents to have access to sites and must follow social distancing guidelines.

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Social distancing proved impossible to maintain prior to closure as visitor numbers topped 800 visits a day.

KCC operates 18 HWRCs, providing facilities for the recycling and disposal of more than 30 different types of waste.

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