Local DIY enthusiasts will no longer be able to dispose of hardcore, rubble and plasterboard at the Stoke Gifford Sort It! Centre after South Gloucestershire Council announced restrictions on the types of waste that will be accepted at the site with effect from Monday 18th May.
The council says the changes are intended to “open up more space to ensure that staff and residents can safely move around the site,” which is the smallest of four household waste facilities operated by the authority.
The move comes just over a month after an employee of the site operator SUEZ Environment (formerly SITA UK) suffered “serious” injuries after being in collision with a shovel loading vehicle during the process of exchanging containers.
The full list of items that will no longer be accepted at the Station Road site is as follows: Cans, aerosols, foil, paper, glass bottles and jars, plastic containers (bottles, yoghurt pots, margarine tubs etc), tyres, plasterboard, hardcore and rubble.
Rigid/hard plastic items such as children’s toys and garden furniture will still be accepted.
The council emphasises that cans, aerosols, foil, paper, glass bottles and jars, plastic containers can continue to be disposed off via its fortnightly kerbside collection service.
A spokesperson for South Gloucestershire Council said:
“To minimise the impact and inconvenience to local residents, we have chosen to discontinue the items that will affect the least number of people who use Stoke Gifford Sort It! Centre. We have selected items that every household can dispose of through our normal household recycling collections, such as cans, glass, paper and plastics. Others are items that residents don’t need to dispose of on a regular basis, such as hardcore, rubble, plasterboard and tyres.”
“Reducing the number of recyclable items that can be taken at Stoke Gifford will help to improve the safe manoeuvring areas where large vehicles and plant move the containers around the site. This will create a safer working environment for our site operatives and residents alike.”
“The council’s other three Sort It! centres (in Yate, Thornbury and Mangotsfield) have not been affected by these changes and can continue to accept all of the discontinued items.”
Other measures already in place at the Stoke Gifford Sort It! Centre include a 1.8 metre vehicle height restriction and a ban on all trailers.
For information about waste and recycling services, visit www.southglos.gov.uk/sortit
The following items can still be disposed of at the Stoke Gifford Sort It! Centre:
- Books
- Bric-a-brac for reuse, for example, garden hand tools, furniture, crockery, bikes etc
- Car batteries and household (dry-cell) batteries
- Cardboard
- Carpet, underlay, duvets and pillows
- Cooking oil
- DVDs and CDs
- Fluorescent tubes and light bulbs
- Green garden waste
- Ink cartridges
- Large electrical equipment such as cookers and washing machines
- Mobile phones
- Refrigerators and freezers
- Rigid plastics such as toys and garden furniture
- Scrap metal
- Small electrical equipment such as kettles, irons, toasters
- Televisions and computer monitors
- Textiles and shoes (tied together in pairs)
- Used engine oil – 1 gallon (5 litres) each visit
- Wood including MDF and chipboard
Photo: Archive image of the Stoke Gifford Sort It! Centre.
