Shepshed tip to reopen on Thursday

LEICESTERSHIRE County Council is to re-open its Shepshed recycling and household waste site on Thursday, 25 June – taking the total number of sites open across the county to eight.

The first seven sites are open seven days per week, while Shepshed will retain its original five-day operating pattern, including weekends.

All sites require members of the public to book in advance online, to ensure social distancing can be maintained.

Bookings at waste sites are steady, says the council, with between 600 and 1400 bookings per day – and over 41,000 bookings in total so far since sites re-opened in mid-May.

New slots for all sites are released weekly, and bookings for Shepshed have now opened. Site users can now book two slots per fortnight.

Other changes at sites include different types of waste/ recycling being accepted, and cars with trailers being allowed on site for the first time on Wednesday and Thursday mornings. Visitors to sites will now be able to bring cardboard and scrap metal.

Traffic management was in place when sites first re-opened, but this has now been relaxed and currently there are no traffic marshals in place.

The booking system has helped ensure queuing has been minimised and residents can safely use waste sites without delay.

Coun Trevor Pendleton, county council cabinet member for waste disposal, said, “We’d like to thank everyone who has visited the sites for using the booking system, turning up for their slots on time and helping us to make everything run smoothly and keep everybody safe.

“We also appreciate that, in some situations, people have had to travel further than they normally would to dispose of waste.

“Aside from these changes, we’re still working on what happens in the future and are continuing to work up plans to ensure we can offer a safe and resilient service going forward.”