Haverhill recycling centre receives more than 11k bookings

Haverhill's £2million recycling centre, in Homefield Road, was officially opened on Wednesday by councillor Liz Harsant, chairman of Suffolk County Council.

The site, which has actually been welcoming people since August before an official opening, replaced the Chalkstone Way centre and is more than three times larger than the old site.

The facility was originally expected to open earlier this year (Image: Suffolk County Council) Other improvements include a raised platform to improve safe waste disposal, a one way system, improved accessibility and increased capacity for recycling and donating items and more separation between public vehicles and larger vehicles.

The site also has queuing capacity within the site and better access to the the nearby A1017.

Councillor Chris Chambers, cabinet member for transport strategy, planning and waste (Image: Suffolk County Council) Councillor Chris Chambers, Suffolk County Council’s cabinet member for transport strategy, planning and waste, said: “What a success the new site has been – with the number of bookings already outstripping what the old site could handle. 

“With plenty more capacity available, the site is prepared for even more visitors as the local population increases, and more people choose to recycle at such a convenient and easy-to-use facility.  

“The council remains committed to its ambition of protecting and enhancing the environment. Of course, we encourage people not to generate waste in the first place, by reusing or making different choices about the products they use. But for the recyclable waste that people do have, the new Haverhill site makes the process easy and convenient.”  

READ MORE: New Haverhill Recycling Centre to open on August 8

Although declared open officially on Wednesday, the site has been taking visitors since August (Image: Suffolk County Council) The old site could handle up to 8,000 bookings but in its first two months, the new recycling centre has exceeded original capacity and taken on 11,000 bookings.

Chris Ellis, operations director, waste and recycling division of FCC Environment, which manages the site, said: “FCC Environment operates around 100 recycling centres up and down the country optimising recycling and reducing waste as we move towards a more circular economy but when a facility has been designed around not just the needs of residents but also operating efficiencies, it makes our job that much easier. 

“The council, our teams and the contractors involved in this project have done an amazing job in getting this centre open and operational. 

“We have been welcoming visitors from Haverhill and the local area for a couple of months now and we are told daily how impressed people are with the new facility and how simple and safe it is to drive in, drop off and drive out.”