On the same day as most people return to work after the Christmas break, household waste sites in the district and across Herts go on to short-time opening.
Instead of opening seven days a week, both Ronsons Way in St Albans and Dark Lane in Harpenden will open five days a week.
Public consultation was held during the summer after the county council’s decision to switch to contractor AmeyCespa and task them with delivering savings of £6 million over the next eight years.
From next week, Ronsons Way in St Albans Road, Sandridge, will be closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays while Dark Lane will shut on Thursdays and Fridays.
Terry Douris, the county council’s cabinet member for waste management, defended the decision, saying: “Although we face serious financial pressures at the moment, by reducing the opening days and hours at our recycling centres we will be able to keep them all open.
“I appreciate that some residents didn’t want any changes to their local centres but the fairest way of making savings is through changing the operational hours of all the sites.”
He pointed out that AmeyCespa would be opening new schemes over the next few months including the introduction of more reuse shops at the centres and a pilot trade waste scheme for small businesses.
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