Merseyside Recycling & Waste Authority is urging people to recycle right this festive season

Householders in the Liverpool City Region are being asked to recycle right this Christmas and New Year.

Merseyside Recycling & Waste Authority (MRWA) and its contractor Veolia are reminding local people that the region’s 16 Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) are open most days – except for Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.

Many items are accepted at Recycling Centres such as cans, cardboard, garden waste (including real Christmas trees), glass jars and bottles, paper, large plastics, scrap metal (including metal artificial trees), textiles, toys and white goods. All the Centres accept electrical items – don’t forget to remove any batteries and recycle them separately.

If visiting a Recycling Centre in a van or with a large trailer (2-3m) then householders need to make an appointment. Bookings can be made online here or by telephone on 0151 255 1444. Visits cannot be booked on the same day. For van and trailer bookings at Halton HWRCs, householders should contact Halton Council*.

As the Recycling Centres are particularly busy at this time of year, MRWA and Veolia are asking householders to consider the following:

• Try and separate your waste before visiting your local Recycling Centre. This way you’ll be able to deposit things more easily and help reduce queues at sites.
• Remove polystyrene and flatten cardboard boxes before placing them into the recycling container – it will take up less room.
• Don’t fly-tip your waste outside a Recycling Centre as this is illegal and you could be fined or prosecuted.
• Wrapping paper (not including plastic wrapping) can be recycled using your local council’s kerbside recycling bin, bag or box and at your local Recycling Centre. If your wrapping paper has a decorative / shiny / glossy / glittery surface it should be disposed of in your local council’s kerbside general waste bin.
• Please don’t bring us plastic bags – try to reuse them as much as possible and next time you go shopping why not buy a bag-for-life?
• Avoid putting recyclable items in your general waste bin. If you cut down on this then there’ll be less chance you’ll have excess black bin bags to bring to your Recycling Centre.
• Bring us your cans and bottles – millions of extra drinks cans and bottles are used during the festive period!
• After Christmas you can bring your real Christmas trees to our Recycling Centres where they’ll be shredded and turned into chippings for compost.
• An excess of oil is used over the Christmas period, with festive food such as turkey, roast potatoes and fry-ups on the menu. Used cooking oil tanks can be found at all local Recycling Centres.
• If there are items like toys, electrical items, bric-a-brac you don’t need after Christmas, you could donate them to local charity shops or community groups.
• Please dispose of old batteries correctly – never put them in your kerbside bins – they can be taken to any Recycling Centre, or alternatively most large shops and supermarkets offer battery recycling points.
• Why not make a New Year’s resolution to recycle more often? Click here for more information about what you can and can’t recycle.

Lesley Worswick, Chief Executive of MRWA, said:

“A lot of waste is created at this time of the year so it’s a good chance to boost the region’s recycling levels. The Recycling Centres will happily accept people’s packaging, bottles and cans – and we’d love real Christmas trees. If you are coming in a van – whether that be your own, a hire vehicle or a work van – then make an appointment. And whatever you do, please don’t fly-tip outside the Centres as this is illegal and you could be fined.”

Household Waste Recycling Centres will be CLOSED on the following days ONLY over Christmas and New Year:

CHRISTMAS DAY (Wednesday 25th Dec)

BOXING DAY (Thursday 26th Dec)

NEW YEAR’S DAY (Wednesday 1st Jan)

Visit the Merseyside Recycling & Waste Authority website here.

Find out what’s happening across Liverpool this Christmas here.