Photo above shows one of Norfolk’s newest recycling centres which opened in Dereham in 2011

 

To help boost reuse and recycling in and around the city people are being asked what they would like to see at the new recycling centre that is needed for Norwich from 2021.

The consultation, which is open  until Friday 27 July, is being carried out well in advance of any plans being drawn up so the design can be shaped around what’s most important to people.

A new recycling centre to replace the one at Swanton Road, Mile Cross could offer plenty of parking bays and reduced queues, a reuse shop*, annual hazardous household waste events and the sale of compost bins.

Martin Wilby, Chairman of the Environment, Development and Transport Committee, said: “We’d love to hear from as many people as possible as the feedback will help shape the design of the brand new recycling centre. We don’t yet know where the new recycling centre will be located although a possible site could be near Norwich airport.

“This consultation is an important early step for us as we want to hear what people would like to see in a new recycling centre for Norwich. We want to be able to provide a state of the art facility that fits with the needs of a growing city and helps to make it easy for people to reuse and recycle more of their household waste.”

Once the consultation closes all the responses will be collated and reported to councillors who are part of the task and finish working group which is overseeing the process to secure a suitable site for the delivery of the replacement recycling centre. An update will also go to members of the Environment Development and Transport committee later in the year.

Work on identifying potential sites is well underway with a decision on a site expected by the end of the 2018 as this should allow time for design, planning, permitting and construction by September 2021.

In selecting a new recycling centre site members will be ensuring that the current Norfolk-wide requirement that people are within a 20 minute car journey of a recycling centre is maintained. A new site would need to meet certain criteria – for example, it needs to be a large site, not too close to residential areas and with good road access.

And there will be further opportunities for people to have their say on the planning proposals after a site has been found and detailed studies carried out.

The consultation runs  can be found at: www.norfolk.gov.uk/recycling

Feedback from annual surveys of recycling centre users carried out by Norfolk County Council has shown that some people are unhappy with long traffic queues, poor layout and lack of facilities such as a reuse shop at the current recycling centre at Mile Cross.  Across Norfolk there are already nine reuse shops which accept donations of good quality second hand household items that are sold on at bargain car boot prices. Reuse shops help to give things a new home and reduce the amount of unwanted items going to waste.

The Environment, Development and Transport committee heard in September 2015 of the need to find a new site for a recycling centre to replace the one at Mile Cross when the current contract runs out in 2021 and as the site is not owned by the County Council. This need to find a new home for a recycling centre gave the chance to explore the option of basing a number of services at one location including a new recycling centre, highways depot and Broadland District Council’s waste collection services however Environment, Development and Transport committee members decided in May 2018 not to take this scheme forward at this time.

Also at the May 2018 Environment, Development and Transport committee meeting councillors agreed that the member task and finish group established to oversee the depot hub project will now focus on overseeing the process to secure a suitable site for the delivery of the replacement recycling centre.