New recycling centre for Sidmouth area

Devon County Council is officially opening its brand new state of the art Recycling Centre which will serve Sidmouth, Ottery St Mary and the surrounding villages. The gates will open to the public on Tuesday 10 December 2013 at 11.30am The facility replaces the old centre at Woods Farm which is now inadequate to meet modern demands. It is located about 300metres south of the old centre on the C808 road near Bowd between Sidmouth and Ottery St Mary. The old site closes permanently at the end of Sunday 8th December 2013 and both sites are closed on Monday 9th December 2013 whilst equipment is moved between the old and new facilities. The new larger centre will give residents a far superior service with minimal queuing and congestion and will make it far easier and convenient to recycle. The site is a ‘split level’ design where the public can deposit items for recycling or disposal in various containers placed at a lower level, without the need to climb steps. The majority of HGV movements will take place separately from the public area which will enable the site to remain open to the public when waste containers are being exchanged. A traffic loop system with ample car parking will ensure a smooth flow of traffic preventing the problem of stationary vehicles blocking the access and exit route. Overall, the site is of a design and capacity that will prevent vehicles from having to queue on the Public Highway during peak periods or container exchanges, as happened at the old site. The new facility is expected to receive approximately 5000 tonnes of household waste annually and will recycle around 80% of all the waste brought in. Dedicated facilities will be available for householders to recycle glass (bottles and window glass), paper, cardboard, cans, textiles, metals, wood, garden waste, plastic bottles, carrier bags, clean mixed plastic packaging, engine oil, vegetable oil, lead-acid batteries, domestic batteries, tyres, fridges, televisions, fluorescent tubes, domestic appliances & electrical equipment, mobile phones, gas cylinders, plasterboard and soil/rubble. The site will also provide facilities to recycle carpets, mattresses and bulky plastics. Facilities will also be available for the safe disposal of small quantities of household chemicals and non-recyclable waste. There is also a dedicated sales area where suitable salvaged items can be purchased for re-use. SITA UK Ltd will be operating the site for the County Council and all the staff at the old site will transfer across to the new facility. The site, which has been leased to the Council by Clinton Devon Estates, and the adjacent field, will be sympathetically landscaped and planted with around 5,000 trees and shrubs to screen the site and minimize the visual impact on the area. The new site will be open every day from 8am until 4.30pm Mondays to Fridays. 10am until 4.30pm on Saturdays and Sundays (winter hours). Councillor Roger Croad, Devon County Council’s Cabinet Member for Environmental and Regulatory Services said: "The old site at Woods Farm had reached its capacity and was inadequate for modern demands. This new site brings local recycling facilities bang up to date with a much improved amenity. I'm sure visitors will find it much easier to use compared to the old one." Councillor Stuart Hughes, local member for Sidmouth, said: "I am very grateful to Lord Clinton and Clinton Devon Estates for allowing the County Council to use and develop this fantastic site for the benefit of the community." "We have worked hard on this project for a number of years, from first finding the right location through to completion of this start of the art civic amenity recycling centre." "The Woods Farm centre is one of the County's top performing centres but it isn't user friendly, which limits its use. The new site, which I'm very excited about, will offer people a much improved service which will encourage more people to recycle more often." Councillor Claire Wright, local member for Ottery St.Mary said: "I'm really glad that the new recycling centre will be open soon. The current one is tiny and inadequate and can cause tailbacks along the road between Tipton and the Bowd Inn. I have been impressed with the attention to detail in the design of the new recycling centre, especially as it is in an area of outstanding natural beauty. It will have very little visual impact on the landscape, with all the planting. I hope that recycling rates will get a boost when the new centre opens." Chris Chandler, Project Manager for the scheme, said: "We hope the local residents like the new facilities and take advantage of this new service. The site will make the whole process of recycling waste far easier and will further help recycle as much waste as possible and divert more and more waste from landfill." South West Highways' Managing Director, Ben Pyle said: "We are really pleased to have undertaken the construction works to bring this iimpressive facility to fruition, It is a fantastic asset for the local community, which is particularly satisfying for us and our staff, being somuch an integral part of that community." Phil Rudin, Regional Manager of SITA UK, the company that will be operating the site for Devon County Council, said: "There is a real sense of anticipation and excitement amongst our recycling team as we prepare to move to the new centre, which is bigger, better and befitting of the local area. We hope that the improved facilities will encourage even more people to come along and put their waste to good use."