The Western Riverside Waste Authority, or WRWA, has announced that its Household Waste and Recycling Centres at Smugglers Way in Wandsworth and Cringle Dock in Battersea are now closed to residents until further notice due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

The centres serve residents of five local councils - Hammersmith & Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea, Lambeth, Wandsworth and Westminster.

The WRWA says that at the present time, household recycling and waste collections continue as normal across the Western Riverside area and it will be supporting colleagues at the borough councils to enable these to continue.

It adds that it would ask residents to be sensible about their waste production and please:

Mnimise your waste as much as possible
Home compost what food and garden waste you can
Do not put out waste for collection that can sensibly be stored at home i.e. don’t clear the shed, attic, etc. and please delay any major DIY works

Avoiding contamination of recycling with other substances is now more important than ever as it will help protect waste operatives and allow them to do their jobs safely.

It is essential that you only put clean and dry recyclable paper, glass, cans, jars, pots and tubs in your co-mingled recycling.

H&F Council Residential waste and recycling collections are currently running as normal and commercial waste collections continue to take place for businesses that remain open.

Where businesses are unable to open, collections and charges will be suspended. Contact commercialwaste@lbhf.gov.uk if you need to suspend your collections. Where businesses have waste containers that cannot be securely stored during any period of suspension, they should let the council know by email so it can remove the containers and return them when you reopen. Collection charges will remain at 2019/20 levels at this time to help businesses that remain open.

Street cleansing services are currently running as normal.

Clinical waste services and assisted collections are currently running as normal.

Garden waste collections, bags of garden waste should be put out with your bin collection as normal.

Bulky household waste collections have been temporarily suspended.

Recycling bring sites - some recycling banks have closed, please do not leave items for recycling at a bank if it is closed.

• Oxfam textile banks- closed
• BHF books and music banks - closed
• Scope textile banks- open
• Traid textile banks - open
• Soex textile banks- open
• Traid home textile collections - temporarily stopped

When cleaning you should use your usual household products, like detergents and bleach, as these will be very effective at getting rid of the virus on surfaces. Clean frequently touched surfaces such as door handles, handrails, remote controls and table-tops. This is particularly important if you have an older or vulnerable person in the house.

Personal waste (such as used tissues) and disposable cleaning cloths can be stored securely within disposable rubbish bags. These bags should be placed into another bag, tied securely and kept separate from other waste. This should be put aside for at least 72 hours before being put in your usual external household waste bin. Other household waste can be disposed of as normal.

While the restaurants are closed and we are cooking more at home, don't forget to take a look at www.lovefoodhatewaste.com lots of tips on saving, storing and preserving food as well as recipes to help reduce food waste.

For more information please see the  Government Guidance.

March 27, 2020