Hounslow 's Space Waye waste and recycling depot will close for a month as preparations for the borough's new refuse service are running behind schedule.
Hounslow Council is set to assume responsibility for refuse collections from October 31, when its contract with Suez (formerly SITA) expires.
But its new waste depot in Southall will not be completed in time, forcing it to use the Space Waye site at the North Feltham Trading Estate in Pier Road, Feltham , as a temporary alternative.
That means Space Waye will have to close for one month from October 3 to enable modifications costing £200,000 to be made so it can handle recyclables from kerbside collections.
When the site reopens on November 4, it will only be available to members of the public on weekends for safety reasons, with opening hours extended on Saturdays and Sundays to run from 8am-6pm each day.
Commercial operators paying to deposit trade waste will only be able to use the depot between Monday and Friday.
Alternative sites available in neighbouring boroughs
While Space Waye is closed, Hounslow residents will be able use the following facilities in neighbouring boroughs for free if they take proof of address and ID:
- Townmead Road Reuse and Recycling Centre, Townmead Road, Kew, TW9 4EL
- Greenford Road Re-use and Recycling Centre, Greenford, UB6 9AP
Residents may be charged for using other depots.
The temporary closure of Space Waye was approved on Wednesday (August 10) in a single member decision by deputy council leader Amrit Mann.
He asked people to "bear with" the council during changes to the refuse service, which he said would boost recycling rates and reduce the amount of waste being sent to landfill sites.
'Decision not taken lightly'
"The decision to temporarily close Space Waye isn’t one that has been taken lightly – there really wasn't any other suitable option available to us for depositing the borough’s recyclable waste..." he said.
"This is the first step to a wave of changes to recycling and waste which will see us increase how much we recycle and reduce waste sent to harmful and increasingly expensive landfill sites.
"I ask residents to please bear with us during this important time."
getwestlondon revealed in June how the estimated cost of Hounslow's new waste service had leapt by nearly £17m , leading to accusations of "reckless" spending from the council's Conservative opposition.
Fortnighly waste collections are being introduced by the council , though food waste and recyclables will continue to be collected weekly.
Fortnightly collections are due to be phased in between mid-January and mid-March next year.
The new depot in Southall Lane, beside Western International Market, should be ready to house rubbish trucks when the council takes the refuse service in-house at the end of October.
But the council does not expect work enabling it to handle waste and recyclables to be completed until mid-2017.
The council said the delay was down to the appointment of a new contractor Willmott Dixon to carry out that work.
For more information about the closure of Space Waye and alternative facilities, visit the Hounslow Council website.
