Chelson Meadow recycling centre will re-open on Wednesday 13 May, for essential visits and restricted items only.

Government advice is still to stay at home and limit non-essential journeys – but if you genuinely cannot store your waste without a risk of injury or harm to your health you are now allowed to travel to a recycling centre.

We will only be accepting garden waste, electrical equipment and bagged household waste initially. Social distancing measures will be in place and staff will not be able to help with unloading.

There will be traffic management to control queuing and maintain access and we are warning people to expect much longer waiting times than normal.

Opening hours will be 8am to 6pm, seven days a week. For more information see our news story.

Please help to protect yourselves and our waste crews by:

• Double-bagging used tissues and disposable cleaning cloths and keeping bags separate from other waste, if anyone in your household shows symptoms.
• Waiting 72 hours before putting any double-bagged waste in the bin
• Cleaning bin handles and washing your hands after putting bins out and bringing them in

See the latest Government advice on the safe disposal of waste during COVID-19.

Please postpone any gardening, clear-outs or home improvements this bank holiday unless you have somewhere to store the extra waste.

Don't put bulky, DIY or garden waste or electricals in bins. It makes them very heavy for our crews to move, is potentially dangerous and can cause problems when the waste is processed. Non-recyclable 'contamination' in green bins also causes delays at our materials recycling facility.

Don't put waste out in the street or in back lanes either – this is fly-tipping (a criminal offence) and can obstruct access for the emergency services and those providing care.

You may consider composting your garden waste at home. There are lots of helpful tips on the Recycle Now and Royal Horticultural Society websites. There are also businesses that will dispose of waste for a charge – but check you use a registered carrier as you will be responsible if your waste ends up fly-tipped.

Finally…please don’t burn your waste. It’s bad for the environment and a nuisance to others in the community who want to get some fresh air. Out-of-control bonfires also put unnecessary added pressure on fire service resources.

There will be no changes to bin collections following this bank holiday.

We don't have any bin rounds on a Friday so there will be no collections to catch up on.

Please put your bin(s) out on your normal day next week.

If you've forgotten whether it's a brown or green bin week for you or you're not sure of your collection day you can check here.