Recycling facility won't look rubbish

A NEW £400,000 recycling centre has been opened in Royston. Councillors, Environment Agency officials, and members of the waste management team saw County Councillor Stuart Pile cut a suitably green ribbon. "It's so good to see so many organisations here celebrating the opening of a facility that will benefit the most important people - the residents of Royston," said Cllr Pile, executive member for transportation and environment. The expanded recycling centre in Beverley Close cost the county council an estimated £400,000, but £350,000 was provided by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. County Councillor Doug Drake told The Crow he was "delighted" with the new facilities. The centre has been expanded, re-surfaced and more car parking spaces have been added. There is also more space for the storage of waste materials. Cllr Pile said: "We really have got state-of-the-art facilities here now. The old site was so small that at weekends and bank holidays we had to close the site to move the containers around. That's always a problem on the small sites." "We try to make it as attractive for people to come as possible. Many more people will go to a place if it's clean," said Cllr Pile. "People have the image of the typical tip, but this isn't like that. You don't get hundreds of plastic bags blowing around the place. It's kept this way so people will come." The range of waste that can be recycled at the centre includes tyres, textiles, fridges, plastics, glass, metals and car batteries. Cllr Bill Davidson, portfolio holder for waste and environment on North Herts District Council, said while looking around at the new waste containers and hi-tech disposal areas: "It seems to be a tremendous place, much improved on the old set-up and hopefully the people of Royston will use it to its full extent." - The household waste recycling centre will be open to the public from 8am to 4pm seven days-a-week.