HOUSEHOLD waste recycling sites including at Skipton and Settle have from today (Wednesday) reverted back to their normal, pre coronavirus, opening times.

All 20 of the North Yorkshire County Council sites were closed due to the coronavirus crisis at the end of March. There was a phased reopening in May, and for a period were open seven days a week, including Wednesdays, when they were normally closed, to help clear the backlog.

From Wednesday, May 27, they reverted back to normal opening hours and days of 8.30am to 5pm six days a week, and closed on Wednesdays.

Cllr Andrew Lee, Executive member for waste management, said: “I would like to thank residents for their understanding, and for playing their part by continuing to recycle and dispose of their waste responsibly and only visiting the sites when they can’t store their waste at home. All the sites that have reopened have been managed well by our contractor Yorwaste with new controls to keep the public and staff safe.

“We encourage everyone to continue to reduce, re-use and recycle all they can, and to stay alert, control the virus and save lives.”

Details of opening times and days can be found at www.northyorks.gov.uk/CovidHWRC.

The council says people should not put masks, gloves or other personal protective equipment (PPE) in their recycling. These items cannot be recycled, and should be thrown in the bin instead. Anyone who has coronavirus symptoms or lives with someone who does, needs to take extra precautions before throwing away PPE.

Visit the Recycle Now website (https://www.recyclenow.com/news/2020-03-27-waste-recycling-collections-covid-19) for more information about recycling responsibly during the coronavirus outbreak.