Reduced opening days at the county’s five household waste and recycling centres will come into effect next month (April), Powys County Council has announced.
From Monday 3 April, the council will be reducing the opening days at the centres in Brecon, Llandegley, Newtown, Welshpool and Lower Cwmtwrch in Ystradgynlais to a minimum of three days a week. The reduction in opening days were agreed by the Cabinet last month (February).
The new opening days and times for the centres will be:
• Brecon: Monday and Tuesday (9am-5pm); Sundays (9am-4pm)
• Llandegley: Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturdays (10am-4pm)
• Newtown: Tuesday and Thursdays (9am-5pm); Sundays (9am-4pm)
• Welshpool: Monday and Fridays (9am-5pm); Saturdays (9am-4pm)
• Lower Cwmtwrch, Ystradgynlais: Thursday and Fridays (9am-5pm); Saturdays (9am-4pm)
Restrictions on the type of vehicles that can access the centres will also come into effect on the same day as the new opening hours. Vehicles that will be allowed at the centres include:
• All cars, sport utility vehicle (SUVs) and people carriers (with rear seats and windows)
• Camper vans and Land Rovers (with rear seats and windows)
• Pick-up trucks / double cab vehicles with sliding cover / fibre glass back
• Single axle trailers towed by any of the above.
Vehicles that will not be allowed at the centre include:
• Pick-up trucks / double cab vehicles with open or a metal back
• All vans (including hire vans)
• Agricultural vehicles
• Sign-written vehicles
• Any trailer that is not single axle (regardless of what it is towed by).
Trade waste recycling permits aimed at small traders will also increase in price from £150 to £200.
Cllr John Powell, Cabinet Member for Waste and Recycling, said: “Although the opening days of the household waste and recycling centres are being reduced to a minimum of three days a week, they have been arranged so that there will always be a site open somewhere in the county every day of the week.
“The two sites in the south of the county will be open on different days to each other and this will be the same for the sites in the north. The site in mid Powys will be open on the day when all the other sites are closed.
“The centres are designed to take household material for recycling or disposal that is not collected from the kerbside. Unfortunately, the sites have been used either by illegal traders getting rid of their waste and by householders getting rid of large quantities of waste when they should be hiring a skip.
“This is why we need to restrict the certain vehicles including commercial vehicles from accessing the sites.” More stories