After much political pressure we now have some information which is of use to the public rather than mere party political propaganda.

Please see the following factual bullet points relating to the St Albans HWRC  :

• Improved site layout providing more parking spaces, reducing  both queuing and unloading times.

• During 2012 – St Albans HWRC received in the region of 150,000 visitors

• During 2012 – Over 5,000 tonnes of varied ‘household waste’ was brought to the site.

• The full list of items accepted at this site is as follows: Aluminium Foil;  Batteries (Domestic); Cans (Aerosol);Cans (Aluminium); Cans (Steel); Car Batteries; Cardboard ; CDs ; DVDs ; Electrical Appliances (WEEE); Fluorescent Lighting Tubes;  Food and Drink Cartons; Fridges and Freezers; Glass; Green Garden Waste; Low Energy Light Bulbs; Metals; Mixed Plastics; Mobile Phones; Oil (Cooking); Oil (Engine); Oven/Hobs ; Paper; Plasterboard; Plastic (Rigid); Plastic Carrier Bags;  Plastic food packaging; Shoes; Textiles; Toner Cartridges; TVs and Monitors; Tyres;White Goods; Wood; Yellow Pages.

• Opening Times are: Summer time, Seven days a week from 08:00 until 18:00;  Winter time, Seven days a week from08:00 until 16:00 (Summer times run from April 1st to September 30th and Winter times run from October 1st to March 31st).The Household Waste Recycling Centres are open all year except for Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Day. They are open on all other Bank Holidays.

• St Albans HWRC achieved a total recycling rate of 80% for the Financial Year 2012/13.

• Soil Conditioner is sold on site at a cost of £4.00  for a 60 litre bag. (Produced from garden waste brought to the HWRCs).

• Hertfordshire Waste Partnership associates at St. Albans City and District Council provided HCC with the opportunity to expand the site into land previously forming part of their depot, now operated by the waste and recycling contractors Amey.

• A new ‘ReUse Centre’ completes the improvements on site, which will be run in partnership with HCC’s contractor Domestic Waste Services Ltd who currently oversee the site on a daily basis.

• The ReUse Centre will be collecting unwanted, quality items to help further reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill.

• As part of their salvage rights, Domestic Waste Services Ltd will generate a small income from items sold at the ReUse Centre. HCC have in turn, a profit sharing arrangement with them,  and any income generated will be invested back into Hertfordshire’s HWRC network.

PLEASE NOTE: (HCC’s first ReUse Centre at the Harpenden HWRC which is in Dark Lane, off Grove Road is run by another of Hertfordshire County Council’s current contractors FCC Environment,  and operates in a  slightly differently way. Here the income generated goes largely to the social care charity Sue Ryder,  but similarly a profit sharing arrangement is  in place and HCC’s proportion of this income once more is invested back into Hertfordshire’s HWRC network).

• Both of these ‘ReUse Centre’ schemes help off set the cost of running the facilities to Hertfordshire taxpayers.

• In HCC’s current tender for the future management of the HWRCs when the existing contracts expires, the County Council has invited contractors to push the boundaries further on options for reuse.

• This refurbished  St Albans HWRC represents the latest upgrade to Hertfordshire’s network of Household Waste Recycling Centres which has been ongoing for the last twenty years.