Derry and Strabane District Council expect to re-open recycling centres in the ‘coming weeks’

The council has said it is ‘committed’ to reopening them ‘as soon as it is safe to do so’.

A spokesperson for the local council confirmed it has received updated information from DAERA which provides some non-statutory guidance to Councils, who are currently considering when and how they could reopen their Recycling Centres.

The non-statutory guidance does not require the reopening of recycling centres.

The spokesperson said that Council is “committed to reopening household recycling centres in a controlled and measured way as soon as it is safe to do so and we expect this to be in the coming weeks.

“The public are advised that as per the Government COVID-19 legislation they should not be making non-essential journeys and should be staying at home when possible during this pandemic.”

The spokesperson added: “Derry City and Strabane District Council continues to operate its full refuse collection service and the public are encouraged to avail of this​ and try not to put additional pressure on this vital service.

“The Council has also, in an effort to provide additional support to the public during this difficult time, established a bespoke COVID-19 Waste Services Helpline – 028 71 376590 – that is operational from 9am to 5pm daily to help those seeking advice on waste services during this emergency period.”

This service includes a facility to enable residents to have additional black bin, blue bin and garden waste that is more than the capacity of the bins that they have, collected from their properties.

The spokesperson said the Council is “working very proactively to deal with issues relating to flytipping, with our enforcement teams on the ground actively investigating all incidents. The Council is also actively reminding the public of their responsibilities in relation to waste and how it is an offence to dump indiscriminately and they could face a Fixed Penalty Notice or a fine imposed by the court.”