What is essential use?

Essential use means only using your household waste and recycling centre (HWRC) for material that you cannot store safely at home without risk of injury or harm to health.

The sites will only be accepting:

• garden waste
• general rubbish (black bag waste or bulky items)

No other reason for visiting your HWRC will be considered essential.

Before visiting

You MUST read ALL of the guidance on this page before visiting your HWRC.

Eleven of Cornwall’s 14 HWRCs will reopen on a restricted basis only from 19 May and will be offering a reduced service.

If you do need to visit your HWRC, please bear with us. High demand is anticipated, there are likely to be queues and you may be asked to leave and return at a later date if queues become too long.

Strict social distancing measures are in place, which is limiting capacity both in terms of the items that can be accepted and the volume of visits.

What are the rules to use my HWRC?

1. If you can store your waste safely at home without risk of injury or harm to health, you MUST do so. Remember: Stay home. Protect the NHS. Save lives.
2. You must not visit the HWRC if you are unwell. Follow the 7-day self-isolation guidance, or if a member of your household is unwell, follow the 14-day stay at home guidance.
3. Before going to your HWRC, you MUST check first to see if you can dispose of your household waste using the kerbside rubbish, recycling, garden or bulky waste collection services.
4. Until further notice, HWRCs are ONLY accepting garden waste and general household rubbish that isn’t collected at the kerbside. HWRCs do not accept trade waste.
5. Anything involving payment – such as hardcore, soil, tyres, plasterboard or asbestos – are not accepted.
6. Please do not bring anything usually recycled – e.g. cardboard, paper, cans, glass, wood, metals, small electrical items, plastic pots, tubs, trays, and cartons. We won’t be able to recycle these items and they will be disposed of as general waste.
7. There are likely to be long queues to use the reopened HWRCs. We are putting special traffic management measures in place, but please put off your visit if you can. If you do come, remember to stay in your vehicle while queuing to aid with social distancing. Please do not leave your vehicle until told to do so by HWRC staff.
8. Only ONE person may get out of your vehicle at any one time. Please ensure you only bring waste you can move from your vehicle to the HWRC container yourself. HWRC staff are to follow social distancing guidelines to the letter at all times and they have been instructed not assist service users with moving waste.
9. Please follow ALL instructions given to you when you arrive at your HWRC and observe social distancing guidelines at all times.
10. Respect your HWRC staff. They are key workers doing a difficult job at a difficult time. We will not tolerate any abuse of our staff.

When can I visit my HWRC?

Restrictions are in place to limit the number of people visiting each day. WHEN people can visit their HWRC is determined by a vehicle number plate system in operation.

If the last digit of your vehicle number plate is an EVEN number – 0, 2, 4, 6 or 8 – then you may only visit an HWRC on an EVEN date of the month, e.g. 20, 22, 24, 26 May etc. For example, the last digit on the number plate RL34 JGS is 4 – an even number – so the owner may visit on even dates of the month. Even numbers include the number 0 (zero).

If the last digit of your number plate is an ODD number – 1, 3, 5, 7 or 9 – then you may only visit an HWRC on an ODD date of the month, e.g. 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, or 29 May etc.

What do I do if I have a van or a trailer?

If you have a vehicle other than a car that requires a permit to access your HWRC, please display it clearly in your windscreen when you arrive at the site. If your vehicle requires a permit, but you don’t have a valid one or you don’t display it properly, you will not be allowed to use the HWRC.

Trailers can now access the household waste recycling centres, please ensure your trailer complies with the permit scheme and your permit is clearly displayed in your windshield on arrival.

Please see the permit guidance here.

The council will not be accepting any new permit applications at this time. All permit applications that were requested before this service was temporarily suspended have now been processed and sent out.

Which sites will be open and what are the opening times?

The following sites will be open from 9am to 4pm, seven days a week from 19 May 2020:

• Bodmin HWRC
• Bude HWRC
• Connon Bridge HWRC
• Falmouth and Penryn HWRC
• Helston HWRC
• Launceston HWRC
• Newquay HWRC
• St Austell HWRC
• St Day (United Downs) HWRC
• St Erth (Hayle) HWRC
• Truro HWRC

• Saltash reopens on Tuesday 02 June 2020
• Dudnance Lane, Pool reopens on Wednesday 03 June 2020
• Tintagel (Bowithick) reopens on Friday 05 June 2020

For further information about your recycling centres, please visit our recycling section here.

• Household waste recycling centres

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