The Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority (MRWA) is to build a new £1.4 million Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) in Liverpool, to ‘relieve pressure’ on the only other HWRC within Liverpool City Council’s boundary.

The site will be built off Cheadle Avenue in Old Swan and will be equipped to collect a wide range of household materials for recycling, including: cardboard; paper; glass; drinks cans; textiles; car batteries; engine oil; furniture; rubble; scrap metal; timber; garden waste; and soil.

It is hoped the new HWRC will provide those in the north of the city with a more convenient way to recycle, and ‘relieve pressure’ on the Otterspool site in Aigburth – currently the only HWRC within the Liverpool City Council boundary.

Speaking of the new facility, MRWA Chief Executive Carl Beer said: “This is great news. Liverpool has needed a second HWRC for years – both to relieve pressure on the existing site in Otterspool and to make sure we are doing everything we can to increase the city’s overall recycling rates.”

MRWA Chairperson Councillor Graham Morgan added that it was “good news for residents in the north of the city because they will now have a much shorter drive to recycle their unwanted items”.

Councillor Laura Robertson-Collins from Liverpool City Council, and a member of the MRWA also commented, saying: “Residents will warmly welcome the approval of the new centre. Having another recycling centre in Liverpool has been overdue for a long time and the new facility will help boost our recycling rates.”

Work on the Old Swan site is due to get underway this summer, with a tender for the contract opening later this Spring. Waste management company Veolia Environmental Services currently operates MRWA’s Waste and Recycling Strategy in the Merseyside and Halton area.

It is expected the Old Swan HWRC will be operational by ‘early 2015’.

St Helens HWRC reopens

(L-R of those cutting the ribbon): Adrian Jefferies, Veolia Environmental Services; Carole Hudson, Chief Executive of St Helens Council; John Deakin, Veolia Environmental Services; Mike Goodier, Cheetham Hill Construction; Cllr Graham Morgan, MRWA Chairperson; and Carl Beer, MRWA Chief Executive

In related news, MRWA’s Ravenhead HWRC at Burtonhead Road in St Helens has reopened this week (7 April) after an ‘extensive redevelopment’.

Improvements to the Veolia-run site include:

• a redesigned layout ‘to help recycling and improve residents’ experience on site’;
• split-level layout ‘to make depositing of waste and recyclables easier’;
• a canopy over the skip area;
• a new waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) building;
• a new access road for operational and public vehicles that incorporates ‘bypass lanes’ to allow residents vehicles to exit or overtake when skips are occupied; and
• additional road space and improved traffic management.

Between now and 30 September the HWRC will be open from 8am to 8pm, reducing to 8am to 5pm during the Winter months (1 October to 31 March).

Councillor Morgan said: “We’re really excited to be reopening this popular centre. This fantastic improved facility will contribute to achieving improved recycling and composting across Merseyside.

“When we consulted residents they told us they were keen to recycle more and the facility accommodates a wide range of different categories of waste containers for recycling. It is another step towards our aim of zero waste to landfill. This newly redeveloped centre is much more pleasant experience for visitors, and will be easier to navigate, which will hopefully encourage more recycling.”

Beer added: “This redevelopment of this Recycling Centre is part of a drive to improve all our facilities, as well as build brand new ones. Merseyside needs to reduce its reliance on landfill and our push for new and improved waste management amenities will help us to achieve this.”

As part of the redevelopment of the site, local artist, Bernie worked with pupils from Hope Academy in Newton le Willows and members of the local University of the Third Age to develop a permanent piece of public artwork for the site, in the form of a mosaic.

The mosaic picked up the themes of ‘Reduce Reuse Recycle’ and was produced following workshops held in the Academy and in the local community. Pupils from the Academy have also produced a range of bird boxes using recycled materials for the site.

Find out more about recycling in Liverpool or learn more about the MRWA.