Waste management company Viridor has set up two make-shift waste transfer stations to help manage the waste created by the recent floods in Somerset.
Make-shift transfer stations have been established in Moorland and Burrowbridge, with 22 skips and containers installed to take away the debris from nearby homes (brought in by official ‘clean-up’ volunteers).
It is hoped the stations will help clear roads of debris and allow volunteers cleaning up after the floods to easily dispose of waste-damaged items such as furniture. The waste stations are not open to the public.
In the 10 days that the stations have been running, Viridor has reportedly removed 30 tonnes of waste, the majority of which will go to landfill due to ‘water contamination’. However, Viridor has said that any WEEE and metal collected will be recycled.
'Very little is salvageable'
Speaking of the sites, Mike Griffin, Viridor’s Operations Manager, said: “Whilst the volunteers are undoubtedly the heroes of the clear up operation, we are pleased to be able to help.
“Some of these houses have been under water for five weeks, so very little is salvageable and because it’s on such a big scale it’s likely to go on for some weeks yet.”
Stuart Smith, a volunteer from Wellington added: “I came down to help one weekend, and I’m still here. The help has changed over that time, but we are now focusing on the clear up operation.
“The systems for filling the skips and segregating the waste and recycling are operating well and the families are so grateful for the help we are giving them”.
A decision is yet to be made on what will happen to the thousands of sandbags that were used to create dams during the floods, but until such time as a decision is made, Viridor has said it will be storing the bags at the Walpole site in Bridgwater.
The company is reportedly co-ordinating arrangements to continue (where possible), the collection of household waste from those affected or cut off by flooding, as part of its waste and disposal contract with the Somerset Waste Partnership.
Any looking for waste advice following the flooding is advised to visit the partnership’s website.
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