Overview
We are committed to maintaining the necessary operating standards at our HWRC and endeavour to ensure it remains safe for visitors to use and staff to work in.
These terms and conditions relay what the site operator Hartlepool Borough Council expects from visitors to the site. In undertaking to use the Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) site visitors are agreeing to adhere to these terms and conditions of use.
Purpose of the site
Hartlepool Borough Council operates a household kerbside collection service for its residents that provides regular collections for recyclable materials and residual household waste. The most cost effective and environmentally supportive way of managing the day-to-day waste produced by residents is whenever possible for them to use these kerbside collections properly.
The main purpose of the HWRC is to provide a complementary service to these regular kerbside collections for materials that cannot be appropriately and correctly disposed of within the kerbside collections. At the HWRC the operator is trying to divert waste from landfill or incineration by increasing the amount re-used, recycled, composted or recovered. For this reason, we will ask you to separate your waste into the appropriate containers so that we can re-use, recycle or compost as much as we can
No trade waste allowed
The HWRC is for domestic waste only. Domestic waste can be defined as waste that originates from the household and has no connection to any business.
Cars, vans and trailers are allowed at the HWRC, You must book an appointment online before you come to the site or you will not be allowed in.
No commercial vehicles, including ‘flat back’ vans or wagons, tippers and / or vans towing trailers are allowed.
Trade waste must not be brought on to the site, and this includes waste that has originated from houses that are leased where it is the landlord or an appointed third party who is attempting to dispose of the waste.
If there are reasonable grounds to believe a person is operating in a business capacity e.g. through our own ongoing waste quality and site usage monitoring at the HWRC site, or vans with company signwriting, commercial vehicles or those over 2 metres in height, that person may be refused entry to the HWRC.
Trailers
Trailers are allowed into the HWRC. Trailers should not be longer than 2.4 metres long and must have a legal registration plate that matches the vehicle that’s booked in on the system.
Pedestrian access
Walk-in pedestrian access to the HWRC is not allowed due to the large volume of vehicles entering and leaving the site throughout the day.
Opening hours
The site is open from Wednesday to Sunday each week, with the following core operating hours, a booking system is in place for all visitors:
- Summer hours: 1 April – 31 October 9am – 6pm (last entry 5.50pm)
- Winter hours: 1 November – 31 March – 9am – 4pm (last entry 3.50pm)
- Please check our website for details of holiday opening booking times.
Note: The site closes briefly around 10:30am and 2:30pm each day for approximately 15 minutes to enable us to compact the skips safely. These times may vary during busy periods.
Booking system
A booking system is in place to ensure the smooth running of the site and assist the operator and Hartlepool residents in a number of ways.
The HWRC is for Hartlepool residents and the booking system aids the operator in the monitoring of unusual activity, helping prevent the disposal of waste from commercial operators and residents from out of the borough.
The booking system allows the operator to identify persons who have visited the site excessively e.g. multiple times per day every day each week, which can be an indicator that they are bringing in non-household waste. This active intervention has diverted a lot of commercial waste, which was previously being subsidised by Hartlepool residents, into the correct disposal routes provided by commercial trade waste services.
The result of this ongoing work is council taxpayers no longer subsidising a lot of businesses, traders, property portfolio managers and those e which is for the benefit of residents.
In addition, the booking system is able to maximise the number of visitors that can access the site at any one time, it helps avoid long waits for visitors, minimises congestion and and supports a safe visitor experience and workplace.
Fair usage limits
To ensure that residents are able to make a booking when required, there are some fair-usage trigger review points built into the booking system. These trigger points are in place to ensure the booking system and the HWRC are not misused, and that the finite capacity available at the HWRC is not wasted by no-shows or residents not using their kerbside waste collections correctly.
Residents who reach these fair-usage limits may find their access temporarily restricted whilst the HWRC operator seeks to establish with the resident the reasons behind the review being triggered, and ultimately whether further action is required to protect the service from misuse.
HWRC fair-usage trigger review points:
- Reaching 52 visits per year for any household and/or person and/or vehicle. ‘No shows’ are counted towards your total 52 annual visits.
- Attempting to book more than 4 visits per day by any household and/or person and/or vehicle;
- Attempting to book more than 10 visits per week by any household and/or person and/or vehicle
- Three ‘no-shows’ in a 6 month period where the resident has not used the text cancellation service.
'No-Shows' cancellation service
A no-show occurs when someone with a booking fails to arrive at the site. No-shows reduce the number of slots available to others who might need them, increase waiting times for those wishing to make a booking and ultimately waste resources.
Please let us know if you are unable to attend your appointment so we can release the booking for someone else. You will receive a confirmation email when you book, which includes a link you can use to cancel if needed. If you cancel your appointment in advance, you will not be recorded as a no‑show.
Conduct whilst at the site
Security cameras are in operation on the site to ensure the safety of staff and visitors.
Violence and aggression will not be tolerated from any person visiting the site.Any person who expresses violent or abusive behaviour towards any member of staff or any other site user(s) will be asked to leave the site, and, if deemed necessary, the Police will be informed.Details of any person who is violent, aggressive or abusive whilst on site may be recorded on the Council’s Employee Protection Register (EPR), which records details of individuals who pose a threat to staff and other service users.
Any person who is deemed to pose a significant risk to safety at the site may be issued with a written warning, and further sanctions could be imposed including having their access rights to the site suspended or withdrawn.
Arriving at the site
Arrive on time
It is important that you arrive at the site at the time stated when you make your booking.By turning up too early, you may contribute to the formation of queues on roads adjacent to the site.Staff will attempt to accommodate any late shows but if this is not possible residents will need to re-book. The operator cannot always guarantee that this will be possible, especially at busy times, or when arriving late coincides with downtime, when essential maintenance and waste handling work is undertaken on site.It is unsafe for members of the public to be on-site at this time.
Check-in
Upon entering the site stop at the site office and wait to be checked in and given further instructions. Follow the road in a clockwise direction.Staff will be with you as quickly as they can, but this can take a little time during busier periods.Please be respectful of staff and follow all instructions given.Failure to follow instructions from site staff may result in visitors being asked to leave the site.
ID
Residents will be asked to show photo ID for proof of address; a driving licence will be acceptable or any other photo ID that shows you live in Hartlepool
Waste types
Staff will make a visual check of the waste in your vehicle to ensure that you are directed to the correct area for disposal of your waste. Please do not be offended if staff ask further questions or ask to view the waste that you are bringing on to the site.
Chargeable Waste
Most waste types can be disposed of free of charge. We will allow for free disposal of DIY waste up to two 50L rubble bags (or one bulky or fitted item no larger than 2,000mm by 750mm by 700mm, the approximate size of a bathtub or shower screen), at a frequency of 4 visits per household over a 4-week period. A charge will apply for any amount over the free allowance.
Please visit our Household Waste Recycling Centre webpage to check which waste types must be paid for. You must pay on arrival at the site. We do not accept cash, so please bring a debit or credit card with you.
Unloading waste
Follow instructions from site staff, and dispose of your waste in the correct skips.Misuse of skips (i.e. the wrong waste type in the skip) will result in staff having to remove the waste, which can have an impact on waiting times for you and other site users.Due to the risk of damage to personal property staff will be unable to offer assistance with removing waste from vehicles, so please ensure that you will be able to manage this yourself.
Children and animals
Children and animals must remain inside of your vehicle at all times whilst on site.
Leaving the site
Please continue to travel around the site in a clock-wise direction, and leave by the exit, which is located directly next to the entrance.If you need to continue back around the site to access another skip, please be sure to give way to vehicles entering the site.
Site closures
If deemed necessary by HWRC personnel, a decision may be taken to close the site with short, or no notice. This may be due to, but not limited to, for example issues with weather conditions that make it unsafe to remain open, staff shortages and incidents or accidents. Whilst all attempts will be made to accommodate site users whose bookings might be affected, we cannot guarantee access when the site has been closed due to unforeseen circumstances.