Perry Barr HWRC to be redeveloped

The Perry Barr household waste recycling centre (HWRC) in Birmingham will close temporarily from 31 July while “major improvement works” are undertaken.Run by Veolia, the 60-year-old site is scheduled to reopen in spring 2023. In the meantime, Birmingham city council has advised residents that the city’s four other recycling centres will remain open and have extra booking slots available to ease any potential disruption.The council has encouraged Birmingham residents who would normally use the Perry Barr site to use the Castle Bromwich HWRC in the first instance as there is said to be more availability.ImprovementsVeolia says the redevelopment will improve the local area and the offering to residents to recycle “more of the right things” in a modern facility.Improvements will include the removal of steps to containers on the site, which the council says will make the site easier to use for members of the public.Dedicated visitor entrances are to be built, removing the need for residents to merge with site traffic.The site will also see an increase in recycling containers and a reduction of general waste containers to help residents recycle more of their waste.BirminghamVeolia signed a 25-year-deal for the treatment of residual waste with Birmingham city council in 1994. This included the management of the city’s five HWRCs and the 350,000 tonnes per year capacity energy from waste plant at Tyseley.In December 2019 the council opted to award Veolia a revised interim contract that would see the deal continue to 2024.Representing an estimated population of more than 1.1 million, Birmingham city council had a household waste recycling rate of 23.6% in the 2019/20 financial year, one of the lowest rates in England.