re3 Recycling Centres To Reopen Next Week On Limited Basis For Advance-Booked Appointments
THE RE3 recycling centres at Smallmead, Island Road in Reading, and Longshot Lane in Bracknell, will reopen on Monday 18th May with entry only possible via an online booking system. The sites have been temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The online booking system will go live on Friday 15th May at 10am for residents of Reading as well as Bracknell and Wokingham. Reading residents will need to book a time slot via https://www.reading.gov.uk/recyclingcentrebooking Bookings will be available for slots from 8am – 6pm, Monday to Sunday, and residents can book up to 7 days in advance. Due to the limited number of booking slots available, with the sites only operating at 50% of usual capacity to allow social distancing measures to be followed safely, residents are urged to continue to safely store waste at home and only make a booking if the trip to the recycling centres is essential. The health of residents and staff is always the highest priority, so everyone visiting the reopened sites must follow traffic signs, staff advice and adhere to the social distancing measures that have been put in place. To ensure that social distancing guidelines are adhered, the following safety measures will be introduced on both sites: · Limiting the number of vehicles allowed at the site at any one time. · All visitors are required to keep the appropriate distance from each other, at least 2m apart. · To minimise unnecessary contact with staff, residents should display their proof of address through closed windows and use contactless payments for transactions if possible. · No assistance for unloading can be provided by site staff who will be available to direct the public and manage residents parking. · In line with Public Health England guidance, residents who are vulnerable, or who are showing symptoms which may indicate coronavirus, must not visit the recycling centres. Things to remember when visiting the re3 sites at Smallmead, Reading and Longshot Lane in Bracknell: · You must make an online booking before you visit the site. If you do not have a booking you will be refused entry. · Please bring proof of address that shows you are a resident of Bracknell Forest, Wokingham or Reading such as driving licence, a council tax bill or a utility bill and place it on your dashboard for staff to see. · You must arrive within your 30 minute timed slot. · You must come in the car for which you made your booking (identified by the number plate). · Visitors who come without a booking, outside of their booked slot, without a proof of residency or in a different car from the booking will be turned away. · We will accept all usual items, including chargeable waste, so plan your visit when loading your car as it will help minimise the amount of time on site. · There may be delays accessing the site and possibly queues of waiting vehicles, so please have all your documents available. · Please be patient and follow the instructions of staff onsite at all times. Cllr Tony Page, Reading Borough Council’s Lead Councillor for Strategic Environment, Planning & Transport and Deputy Leader of the Council, said:
More information can be found on the re3 website. Bookings will go live on Friday 15th May at 10am, and residents can make a booking from that time at https://www.reading.gov.uk/recyclingcentrebooking with more slots becoming available daily as of Monday 18th May.I welcome the reopening of the recycling centres based on an online booking system and effective traffic control system, supported by other social distancing measures. These give us confidence that sites can operate safely, at the same time providing residents with the opportunity to dispose of and recycle their waste in a responsible manner. We thank residents for their patience during the period that the recycling centres have been closed and ask that they continue to be patient whilst the service is reintroduced. We anticipate that demand will be high, and with limited appointments available we ask everyone to only make a booking and travel to the centres if it is necessary”