New £2m Haverhill recycling centre is under construction and on track for a summer opening
A new £2 million recycling centre is on target to open in Haverhill later this summer.
The facility, in Homefield Road, is more than three times the size of the recycling centre at Chalkstone Way, which it will replace.
The construction works are being completed by FCC Environment and its contractor DXI Regeneration Ltd, on behalf of Suffolk County Council.
The facility will be operated by FCC Environment, which manages all of Suffolk’s 11 recycling centres.
The new centre will feature a raised platform, giving users an elevated position from which to safely dispose of waste - removing the need for steps and a one-way system and easy-to-use layout, allowing customers to access clearly marked recycling bays
Unlike the current, outdated site, there will be no need to close the facility to replace full containers and it will have improved accessibility and increased capacity for recycling and donating items for re-use.
The new facility will also have a greater separation between public vehicles and larger vehicles, queuing capacity within the site and better access from the public highway compared to the Chalkstone Way site.
Suffolk County Council’s cabinet member for waste, Cllr Richard Smith MVO, recently visited the site with Haverhill county councillors David Roach and Joe Mason.
Cllr Mason said: “This new facility marks a massive upgrade in how the people of Haverhill will be able to recycle and dispose of their waste in Haverhill.
“It offers improved and increased recycling options and offers more accessibility for all.
“Most importantly there will be no more climbing up and down metal steps, and even better, it is all undercover, away from rain.
“County councillors David Roach, Heike Sowa and myself fought hard to ensure the funding of this project was in place for the project to be delivered and we are delighted that after emphasising the need for this development, we will soon see in Haverhill a facility that really meets the needs for this growing town and the surrounding area.
“Yes it's been a long time coming, but we are nearly there."
Cllr Smith said: “Excellent progress has been made on the replacement recycling centre at Homefield Road, and we are confident that it will be ready to open to the public in the summer.
“The new facility is much larger, safer and more accessible, and will be fit to serve Haverhill and the surrounding area for years to come.”
Simon Hale, FCC environment area manager, said: “It is great to see positive progress being made to this new site which will provide benefits to the local community helping residents to recycle ever more of our resources.
“We are looking forward to the site opening in due course.”
The waste transfer station on Homefield Road will continue to operate on the same site alongside the new recycling centre.
The project sees FCC Environment and Suffolk County Council working as part of the Suffolk Waste Partnership with West Suffolk Council.
