Household Waste Recycling Centres are places where you can dispose of extra household waste or recycling, as well as items that are not collected through the kerbside waste and recycling collection service.

The Council operates seven HWRCs across the borough. These sites are well-used, receiving around 740,000 visits and processing 40,000 tonnes of household waste and recycling per year. Currently, 60% of HWRC waste is recycled or reused, and last year it cost £2.4 million to operate the sites and manage the recyclable waste, and a further £1.3 million to dispose of the non-recyclable waste.

Primary and Secondary HWRC sites

The seven HWRC sites are split into two categories – primary and secondary sites. 

Primary sites are larger and can handle a wide range of materials. They are open seven days a week and have a reuse shop where visitors can buy unwanted items at low prices. All primary sites have a one-way system and provide easy access for customers. 

Secondary sites are open five days a week and accept a smaller range of materials. They have less space for reuse activity. The smallest secondary sites also have vehicle and trailer size restrictions, to help keep sites safe and reduce unloading times.

Site locations are listed below.

Primary site locations:

• Chester – Bumpers Lane, off Sealand Road, Chester, CH1 4LT
• Ellesmere Port – Garth Road, off Bridges Road, Ellesmere Port, CH65 4LB
• Winsford – Leslie Road, Woodford Park Industrial Estate, Winsford, CW7 2RB.

Secondary site locations:

• Frodsham – Station Yard, off Church Street, Frodsham, WA6 6PN
• Neston – Clayhill Industrial Estate, off B5136 Liverpool Road, Neston, CH64 3RL
• Northwich – Marbury Lane, off Leicester Street, Northwich, CW9 5LN
• Tattenhall – Red Lane, Tattenhall near Chester, CH3 9BD.

More details about each HWRC site can be found on the Council’s website: cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/hwrc

The Council adopted a ten-year Waste Management Strategy in 2021, to reduce overall waste, increase recycling and provide a cost-effective service.

Progress to date includes implementing several measures to improve the kerbside waste and recycling collection service, including:

• Delivering kerbside services through a company wholly owned by the Council, Cheshire West Recycling Ltd, so that the Council can benefit from the sale of recycled materials collected at the kerbside
• Introducing a new kerbside recycling service in 2022, delivering over 300,000 bigger recycling containers to households across the borough
• Reducing the number of vehicles needed to collect household waste and investing in a greener fleet.

These changes have made a significant contribution towards helping to tackle the Climate Emergency and reducing the cost of waste disposal, including:

• Recycling rates increasing from 56% in 2022/23 to approximately 59% in 2023/24
• The amount of waste placed in black bins or bags falling by 6% (an average reduction of 28kg per home), compared to two years ago
• A carbon emission saving of 371 tonnes (equivalent to the benefit of planting 18,000 trees) from travelling fewer miles to collect waste and using greener vehicle fuel containing Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, a renewable alternative to pure diesel.

The Council is now reviewing the Household Waste and Recycling Centre (HWRC) service, which handles nearly a quarter of all household waste across the borough. The Council currently commissions (or ‘buys in’) an external company to provide this service. This contract is ending soon, offering an opportunity to consider how the HWRC service is delivered in the future, to deliver a modernised and affordable service, which is aligned with the Waste Management Strategy.

As part of the Waste Management Strategy, the Council carried out a review of the HWRC service, to develop proposals for delivering a modernised and affordable service. This included:

• Analysing data on site usage, waste types and volumes, and associated costs, to identify opportunities to improve the efficiency of the service and reduce the costs of waste treatment and disposal.
• Researching how services work in other local authority areas, to understand best practice and identify ways to improve the customer experience.
• Engaging with service providers, including waste industry specialists and technology providers, to identify opportunities to modernise how our HWRC service operates.
• Reviewing relevant legislation and policies, to ensure proposals for the service align with the law, government guidance and targets, and the aims of the Council’s Waste Management Strategy.
• Commencing an Equality Analysis, to understand whether the proposals could have a positive or negative effect on different groups or communities, to meet the diverse needs of the community. The Equality Analysis will be updated following consultation feedback.

The Council has developed three key ambitions to ensure we deliver a modernised and affordable HWRC service and five possible solutions to help us achieve these ambitions. The Council would like to understand your views on these proposals, to help shape HWRC services for the future and ensure they reflect the needs of the community.

Ambition 1 - Prevent waste by reusing and recycling products and materials at every opportunity

Much of the waste brought to HWRCs is high-quality material that still has a value. Repairing and reusing items can extend their life as well as providing low-cost items to people. Where this is not possible, the aim is to recycle instead, such as turning garden waste into soil conditioner. Currently, 1.8% of waste brought to HWRC sites is reused and the Council’s aim is to increase this to at least 5%, as well as increase HWRC recycling rates from 60% to 70%. This benefits the environment by reducing the need for new materials and contributing to a greener economy.

Ambition 2 - Provide fair and reasonable access for residents, while preventing unauthorised access 

With the cost of waste disposal and treatment increasing, the Council must do more to operate HWRCs as efficiently as possible and ensure that only waste from residents’ homes is accepted. This means preventing unreasonable use and unauthorised access by tradespeople, businesses and people living outside the borough.

In 2017, the Council implemented measures to reduce unreasonable and unauthorised use of HWRCs, saving around £250,000 a year. These measures included (please see Solution 3 for more details):

• Using Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) to monitor how often vehicles use HWRCs and flagging any vehicles identified as using any combination of sites more than 4 times in 28 days, or 12 times in 180 days, as frequent users
• Asking frequent users to complete a form to provide information about the waste they are bringing
• For every visit, requesting all HWRC visitors to bring proof confirming that they live in the borough
• Asking drivers of any commercial-type vehicle to complete a form to provide information about the waste they are bringing
• Where further investigation is required, these visitors may be subject to usage restrictions.

However, in 2023, approximately 3,000 vehicles still visited a HWRC over 24 times in 12 months, accounting for around 15% of all visits. Therefore, these measures need to go further to reduce the cost of waste treatment and disposal associated with unauthorised access.

Ambition 3 - Continue to improve the service and make it as efficient as possible

The HWRC service must continue to be responsive to residents’ needs and government legislation and operate efficiently to provide value for money. Therefore, the Council has considered a range of ways to improve the service, including:

• Exploring solutions to enhance how HWRCs operate and improve people’s experience of using HWRCs, as resident feedback has highlighted queuing as an issue at some sites during peak times.
• Providing containers at HWRCs to enable certain soft furnishings that may contain pollutants to be separated from other types of waste, in line with new legal requirements.
• Providing more support to visitors, to help them sort the waste they bring to sites, which is important for correct waste treatment and disposal and to meet recycling targets.
• Investigating how new technology could help automate proof of address checks, to modernise the way site usage is managed and monitored and improve the efficiency of HWRCs.

Our solutions

The five proposed solutions that we have identified to help us meet our three ambitions are:

1. Provide more opportunities for the repair and reuse of unwanted items

2. Automate proof of address checks by pre-registering vehicles

3. Update the HWRC reasonable use procedures

4. Support residents to sort the waste and recycling they bring to HWRCs

5. Limit the amount of DIY waste brought without charge.

The Council would like to expand reuse facilities at HWRCs, particularly on sites with space for a repair workshop or retail facility. These facilities recover and redistribute unwanted items and are often managed by community organisations, such as furniture reuse schemes or charities. Having reuse areas at sites also enables items such as paint, pallets and unused building materials to be offered to people for free.

Benefits:

• Ensures waste is treated in the most sustainable way, in line with the Waste Hierarchy. This means the best way to manage waste starts with waste reduction, followed by reuse, recycling, recovery and disposal.
• Waste prevention through repair and reuse is the most effective way to reduce carbon emissions from waste materials.
• Creates local jobs, volunteer positions and opportunities for skills development.
• Generates income for charitable organisations.
• Provides low-cost items to people who need them.

Considerations:

• Reuse initiatives need space and appropriate facilities, either on HWRC sites, or in the local community, requiring investment. However, collaboration with local partners, such as charities, social housing and other organisations supporting vulnerable people, would help to supply low-cost items to communities in need, as well as generate them an income from sales.
• To make reuse shops more accessible, an online sales platform could be explored, alongside opportunities to distribute items through the existing charity shop networks.

Currently, residents are required to bring proof that they live in the borough each time they visit a HWRC, to help prevent unauthorised use by tradespeople, businesses and people living outside the borough. Due to the close proximity of Neston HWRC to the border of a neighbouring local authority, residents using this site must also apply for and show a paper permit, to confirm that they are a Cheshire West and Chester resident. The Council has explored ways to modernise this system and make it simple and easy for residents to visit HWRCs.  

The proposed system would enable residents to pre-register their vehicles to visit HWRCs. Registration would be a one-off process and residents would only need to update their details if they change a vehicle or move house. Existing Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) at each site would be used to automatically check vehicle registration numbers on entry and confirm their eligibility to visit.

Residents would be encouraged to register their vehicles online before visiting a HWRC. However, residents with no internet access would also be able to complete a paper form available at HWRCs. Support with registration would also be provided for residents through the Council’s Contact Centre, at libraries and at each HWRC.

Number and types of vehicles

Each household could register up to three vehicles in total, with specific limits for certain types of vehicles, as follows.

Standard vehicles used for domestic purposes* (maximum of 3 per address). Examples include:

• Cars (including people carriers, estate cars, SUVs)
• Minivans/minibuses - with windows all the way round and seats throughout
• Camper vans
• Motorcycles
• Any vehicles fitted with adaptations for a disabled person

Commercial-type vehicle used for domestic purposes* (maximum of 1 per address). Examples include:

• Cars - with any panelled windows and/or rear seats removed
• Minivans/minibuses - with any panelled windows, any seats removed, and/or 10 or more seats
• Vans
• Open back vehicles (including pick-up trucks with or without a cover)

*Waste from commercial premises or produced by businesses or any “paid for” work is not permitted at any HWRC site.

For example, a single household could register: 

• 3 standard vehicles or
• 2 standard vehicles and 1 commercial-type vehicle.

In addition to this, a single household could also register one large trailer with an internal length over 1.6m long. Trailers with an internal length of 1.6m or less do not need to be pre-registered.

All registered vehicles and trailers would be subject to the reasonable use procedures detailed under Solution 3.

Registration process

To register vehicles, residents would need to provide:

• A contact email address and/or telephone number
• Council Tax reference number 
• Home address (which must match their Council Tax record)
• Name of lead applicant (which must match their Council Tax record) 
• Vehicle registration number, make and model, and the name of the registered keeper.

Commercial-type vehicles would need to be registered online, in order to upload the following additional documentation: 

• A V5 (vehicle registration) document (address must match the registered keeper’s Council Tax record) 

OR

• IF the vehicle is leased by the householder - a lease document

• IF the vehicle is owned by a company registered to a different address - a signed letter of authority to confirm the vehicle is for personal use

All documentation would be destroyed immediately following verification.

Charity permits

The Council will continue to operate the existing charity permits for charitable organisations to deposit unwanted donations from households within the borough.

Benefits:

• Removes the need to bring proof of address on every HWRC visit, making it simpler and easier for residents to access sites.
• Replaces the existing paper-based permit systems at Neston HWRC, reducing administration and postage costs. 
• Ensures only intended users can access HWRCs, reducing the costs of treating and disposing of waste from unauthorised users.
• Helps monitor and manage HWRC visits in line with the reasonable use procedures (Solution 3).
• Automates site entry, enabling staff to provide more support to visitors to help them correctly sort their waste and recycling.
• Other local authorities operating similar schemes have experienced efficiencies in the ways that sites operate, including reduced number of overall and unauthorised visits, and therefore reduced queuing times.

Considerations: 

• The Council would promote the new system widely, to make residents aware of the need to pre-register and provide an ‘introductory’ period, during which any visitors who had not pre-registered would be informed of the new process on entry.
• The pre-registration system would be designed to enable residents to visit HWRCs on behalf of other residents in the borough, where necessary, such as family and friends that they care for, or that do not own a vehicle.
• There would be a cost to the Council for the development and management of the system, however, these costs would be low compared to the cost of treating and disposing of waste from unauthorised users.

The Council has reasonable use procedures, which outline how HWRCs can be used to dispose of waste, to ensure that sites operate efficiently and effectively, and are only used by residents to dispose of household waste.

Under current procedures

• Any vehicles identified by the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system as using any combination of sites more than 4 times in 28 days, or 12 times in 180 days, are flagged as frequent users. Frequent users are asked to complete a form to provide information about the waste they are bringing.
• Any commercial vehicles visiting a site are asked to complete a form to provide information about the waste they are bringing.
• Where waste is confirmed as household, visitors are permitted to access HWRCs. Where further investigation is required, those visitors may be subject to usage restrictions.

However, the number of frequent visitors and those suspected of bringing non-household waste is increasing, with 1,187 vehicles investigated in 2023/24, compared to 746 in 2022/23, many of which were commercial vehicles. Therefore, to ensure fair and reasonable use of HWRCs, whilst managing the cost of operating these facilities, the following changes to the reasonable use procedures are proposed.

Proposed procedures

• Monitor the number of visits by home address rather than vehicle, by pre-registering vehicles through Solution 2, to ensure households with one vehicle are not unfairly disadvantaged.
• Allocate 24 visits per household in any 12-month period.
• All visits in a standard vehicle (used for domestic purposes) would count as one visit. This can include towing a small trailer under 1.6m. Examples include cars (including people carriers, estate cars, SUVs), minivans/minibuses (with windows all the way round and seats throughout), camper vans, and any vehicles fitted with adaptations for a disabled person.
• All visits in a commercial-type vehicle (used for domestic purposes) would count as 2 visits. This can include towing a small trailer under 1.6m. Examples include, cars (with any panelled windows and/or rear seats removed), minivans/minibuses (with any panelled windows, any seats removed, and/or 10 or more seats), vans, and open back vehicles (including pick-up trucks with or without a cover).
• All visits in any vehicle towing a large trailer with an internal length of over 1.6m would count as 2 visits.
• The allocation of 24 visits could be used in any way over the 12-month period. For example, spread out over 12 months, or condensed into a shorter time, depending on need.
• Residents could also apply for a single use permit for additional visits, with up to 4 permits available in any 12-month period. For example, to use in circumstances such as moving home. This would be in addition to the 24 visits allocated as described above.

Charity permits

Charity workers or volunteers using their own vehicle to deposit waste on behalf of a permitted charity would need to show their charity permit on arrival to make sure their own personal allowance is not affected.

There would be no change to the terms and conditions of use of charity permits, which are as follows:

• Waste can only be deposited at the primary HWRC sites at Winsford, Ellesmere Port or Chester
• Waste can only be deposited on weekdays (Monday-Friday).
• Waste must be segregated to maximise recycling
• Only waste generated from domestic households within the borough can be deposited

All vehicles using the sites must be under 5 metres in length, less than 2 metres high, and not more than 3.5 tonnes gross vehicle weight.

Benefits:

• Encourages residents to plan visits and prevents excessive use, improving the ease of accessing HWRCs at peak times.
• Ensures only intended users access the HWRCs, reducing the costs of waste treatment and disposal associated with unauthorised access.
• The proposed system aims to provide residents with flexibility to choose which registered vehicles to use, depending on what type of waste they wish to bring.

Considerations:

• This solution is dependent on the implementation of Solution 2, pre-registering vehicles, in order for the Council to be able to monitor and manage HWRC visits.
• The pre-registration system would also enable residents to check how many of their allocated visits they have remaining and allow site staff to tell visitors when they are nearing their allocation of visits.
• The Council would promote the new reasonable use procedures widely, to ensure residents are aware of how the allocation of visits works.
• The Council would provide a process for residents to request a genuine and/or urgent need for additional visits. For example, a resident moving house, who has already used all their permitted visits. 
• The reasonable use procedures would be designed to enable residents to visit HWRCs on behalf of other residents in the borough, where necessary, such as family and friends that they care for, or that do not own a vehicle, without using their own allocation of permitted visits.
• The Council would enable residents to visit reuse shops at HWRCs without using any of their allocated permitted visits if they are not depositing waste at the site.

Currently, around 60% of the waste brought to our HWRCs is recycled. The Council would like to increase this to 70% by encouraging and supporting visitors to sort the waste and recycling they bring to sites correctly.

While many visitors already sort the waste they bring, we have found that nearly 30% of the waste put in the non-recyclable skips could be recycled, and site staff spend a lot of time sorting waste correctly. Therefore, we are considering measures to ensure waste and recycling is sorted correctly before disposal.

HWRC visitors are sometimes unsure what types of waste should go in each container. We believe that by involving residents, informing them on the correct way to sort waste and working together to make recycling second nature, we could improve recycling rates at HWRCs. 

Visitors would be encouraged to sort their waste and recycling before arriving at a HWRC. An area would also be provided at each site, to enable visitors to sort their waste when they arrive. Staff on site would check waste and be on hand to help visitors ensure it is placed in the correct containers.

Benefits:

• Educating visitors would improve recycling rates both at HWRCs and through the kerbside waste and recycling collection service.
• Increase in recycling rates would also lower the costs associated with waste treatment and disposal.

Considerations:

• The Council would widely promote the requirement to sort waste before visiting a HWRC, to make residents aware of the changes and avoid delays when visiting.
• The pre-registration system (Solution 2) would enable the Council to send residents information to help them sort their waste before visiting a HWRC.
• Clear signage and support from staff would make it easier for people to sort their waste at HWRC sites but may mean additional staff would be needed when changes are first introduced.
• Some visitors may refuse to sort their waste and, in those circumstances, the Council may need to consider usage restrictions.

In December 2023, the Government introduced new legislation setting out the types and amounts of DIY waste that councils must accept at HWRCs without charge, with the aim of ensuring it remains easy and affordable for people to dispose of waste from small DIY projects. The legislation also aims to protect councils from the increasing costs of waste treatment and disposal, by specifying the type and amount of DIY waste which must be accepted for free at HWRCs.

The Council committed to reviewing how DIY waste is managed, as part of our ten-year Waste Management Strategy. The amount of DIY waste brought to HWRCs is increasing, with an 11% increase over 2023/24. Costs of waste disposal are also rising, and the Council is no longer able to meet these costs. Therefore, alongside implementing the definition of DIY waste and associated restrictions set out in the new legislation, the Council is proposing to introduce a charge for DIY waste beyond these restrictions. 

Amount of DIY waste accepted for free

Householders will continue to be able to dispose of DIY waste for free at HWRC sites where it meets all the following criteria set out in the new legislation.

• The waste is produced by householders whilst carrying out small-scale construction or demolition works at their home.
• The waste does not arise from activities that generate an income for the person who carried them out.
• The waste is not produced on a regular basis, defined as more than 4 HWRC visits over a 4-week period. 
• The volume of waste per visit is no greater than two 50L rubble bags, or, one bulky or fitted item, no larger than 2m by 0.75m by 0.7m (the approximate size of a bathtub or shower screen).

The number of times visitors bring DIY waste to any HWRC site would be monitored. Solution 2, pre-registering vehicles would enable site staff to record and monitor DIY waste deposits against household addresses. An alert would be generated if the number of visits per household exceeds 4 in a 4-week period.

Option to charge for additional DIY waste

We propose to offer residents the option to dispose of additional DIY waste at HWRCs, or to dispose of DIY waste more frequently than 4 times in 4 weeks, at a charge.

The proposed charges would cover the costs of handling, transporting and disposing of the additional DIY waste on a full cost recovery basis. The proposed fee is based on the amount of additional DIY waste that we anticipate would be brought to HWRCs based on past usage. Charges would be reviewed annually, based on the types and amounts of DIY waste brought to sites, as well as waste treatment and disposal costs, to ensure costs continue to be recovered.

The proposed initial fee for additional waste is:

• £3.70 per 50L bag, or equivalent of DIY waste beyond the free allocation
• £3.70 per bulky single item of DIY waste beyond the free allocation

If the proposed fee is not introduced, HWRCs would no longer be able to afford to accept DIY waste beyond the free allocation.

Payments would be made at HWRCs through a cashless payment system administered by site staff trained to apply the policy fairly and consistently.

The only exceptions to these charges would be for:

• DIY wood waste, which would continue to be accepted free of charge to discourage garden fires.

• DIY waste suitable for scrap metal recovery, which would continue to be accepted free of charge, as there is no cost to disposing of this waste.

Types of DIY waste accepted

Items included within the legal definition of household DIY waste which would be accepted, within restricted amounts:

• Plastic or fibreglass, PVC - Shower trays, baths, shower screens, guttering or facia, drainage, and sewer pipes, window and door frames, PVC doors
• Rubble, hardcore, concrete, gravel, Tarmac - Bricks, breeze blocks, paving slabs, concrete lintels, mortar and rendering, cement board, construction or landscaping gravel or pebbles, mixed or powder cement, marble/granite worktops
• Glass - Plate sheet glass (e.g., windows), shower screens, tiles
• Pottery, ceramic and porcelain - Baths, bidets, shower trays, floor and wall tiles, sinks, wash basins with a pedestal, toilets with a cistern
• Sand - Sharp, play pit, sandbags (used for flood defence)
• Slate - Roof slate, aggregate
• Soil/stone - Soil and clay, flagstones
• Turf - Lawn edging/removal
• Plaster and gypsum-based items - Plasterboard sheets, plaster removed from walls, powder plaster
• Other - Insulation, roofing felt, carpet, linoleum

Other household DIY waste the Council will continue to accept, with no restriction on the amount or charges:

• Wood, chipboard, MDF, laminated wood - Fitted cupboards and wardrobes, worktops, shelving, fencing, posts, garden sheds, decking, floorboards, parquet flooring, bannisters, skirting boards, panelling, doors (glass removed), window frames (glass removed)
• Metal - Any metal suitable for recovery e.g., window frames (glass removed), pipes and fixings, metal panelling, garage doors, sheds, gates and fencing, wire

Benefits:

• Cost-effective solution for residents where small DIY projects may not justify hiring a skip.
• Discourages unauthorised use of HWRC sites by tradespeople and people carrying out improvement works to business premises.
• Reduction in DIY waste may also lead to a reduction in queues, as unloading large amounts of DIY waste takes longer.
• Reduction in waste disposal costs would help keep the HWRC service affordable and sustainable for the future.

Considerations:

• The charging process for additional DIY waste would be simple and site staff would be trained to apply the policy fairly and consistently. 
• Residents may be more likely to dispose of larger quantities of construction waste through trades people and skip companies. Therefore, the Council would raise awareness of the checks residents can do, to ensure they are transporting and disposing of waste responsibly.

The Council will continue to review the HWRC service in line with the Waste Management Strategy, including monitoring demand for HWRC sites, and exploring opportunities to work with neighbouring councils. However, we need to understand how any of the solutions potentially taken forward following this consultation make a difference first, before considering if further solutions are necessary. Should any further solutions result in significant changes to the service, further consultation may be carried out at a later date.