Here is tonight's COVID-19 update from Cardiff Council, covering: the news that recycling centres are reopening, details on how to book a slot to use them and the items they can accept; waste collections going ahead as normal on Monday, despite the Bank Holiday; and what to do if you receive a Council Tax advice email or text.

Online bookings available to access Cardiff's recycling centres for limited items only

Cardiff's recycling centres are to re-open for the disposal of limited items, but for safety reasons, residents will have to book a timed appointment Cardiff Council has revealed.

Bessemer Close Recycling Centre will re-open next Tuesday, May 26^th, followed by Lamby Way Recycling Centre on Sunday, May 31^st.

An online booking system has been set up and anyone that needs to visit a recycling centre will have to make an appointment. The online booking system will be available for the public to use from 12.30pm tomorrow - May 22^nd.

The only items that canbe brought to the recycling centres for now are cardboard, wood, garden waste, scrap metal, small electrical items and hard plastic.

To help residents dispose of larger items the council's bulky waste collection service is also being reinstated from Monday, June 1^st.

Detailed plans have been put in place to ensure that residents' visits to the recycling centres are managed in a safe way complying with social distancing rules.

The recycling centres will open from 8.30am until 4.30pm seven days a week. Residents can only book an appointment online through the council website:www.cardiff.gov.uk/recyclingcentres. Anyone who turns up without an appointment will not be allowed to access the sites.

Cardiff Council's, Cabinet Member for Clean Streets, Recycling and the Environment, Cllr Michael Michael, said: "I'm delighted to say we are now able to reopen the recycling centres and I want to thank residents for their patience. However, the new rules on social distancing means the service can't run as it did before the COVID-19 outbreak.

"We have to ensure that our residents and staff are safe at these facilities. The sites have had to be re-designed so social distancing rules can be followed and we have had to introduce a booking system so we can manage people through the process while keeping everyone safe."

The new rules designed to keep residents and staff safe include:

• Booking must be made online at least 24 hours in advance and residents should not arrive on site until 5 minutes before their time slot. Residents will need to set up an account and provide their home address and vehicle registration number. To register and book an appointment please visit the Council website: www.cardiff.gov.uk/recyclingcentres
• Both the confirmation email from your booking, and ID showing you are a Cardiff resident, must be provided to the member of staff that will meet you on site. You will be allocated a parking bay when you arrive. If a member of staff isn't available, please follow the traffic management signs to park your vehicle.
• Residents are advised to bring their own gloves or hand sanitiser, though hand sanitiser will be available on site.  Only one person will be able to leave the vehicle to drop off waste and we ask residents to use hand sanitiser before and after they drop off their items. Each vehicle will be given a maximum of 10 minutes to offload on site.
• Only cars will be accepted on site, no high-sided vehicles, vans or trailers will be allowed.
• Only one person will be able to approach a skip at a time and all residents must keep a two metre distance from staff and other residents.
• The only items thatcanbe brought to the recycling centres are cardboard, wood, garden waste, scrap metal, small electrical items and hard plastic.
• All remaining items, including computers, mobile phones, batteries, florescent tubes and lightbulbs, rubble, soil, plasterboard, UPVC windows, bikes, carpets, tyres, household waste, household and garden chemicals, mixed glass, plastic packaging, larger electrical appliances, fridges and freezers, TV's and monitors, vegetable oil, used engine oil, car batteries, books and gas bottles cannot be brought to these sites.
• Restrictions have been put in place to ensure booking slots can be fairly distributed. The booking system will ensure that each household will only be able to visit a centre twelve times a year.
• If a resident or anyone in their household has symptoms of COVID-19, they should not make an appointment to visit our recycling centres.

Cllr Michael said: "We have had to put these systems in place to effectively manage the sites. It's very likely there could be more traffic than usual on the approach to each facility, so everyone will need to be patient. It's important people don't turn up too early, only turn up if they have an appointment, and only bring items which we are currently accepting at these facilities.

"I'm sure many of us have seen the way supermarkets have changed the way they operate to accommodate social distancing. Queuing systems have been set up and that's exactly what we are having to do here. I'm asking everyone to be patient and to only book an appointment if you have a genuine need to do so. Ask yourself is it really essential in the first place.

"It's worth remembering that green bags are now being collected every week from the kerbside for recycling and we are re-starting the bulky collection service on June 1^st."

Click here Questions and answers on Cardiff's recycling centres.

May Bank Holiday - No Change to Waste and Recycling Collection Dates

Your collection day will remain the same over the late May Bank Holiday this year, but collection times may change so please ensure your waste is out by 6am. 

Waste collection services will operate on Monday 25^thMay and there will be no change to collection dates for the rest of the week.

Our waste collection team will work across the bank holiday to ensure the collection service continues efficiently.

Recycling

We're asking that you continue to separate recyclable materials, just as you normally would, as we recognise that there would be no space in your black bin / red striped bags for these items if you didn't have a recycling bag collection.

Cardiff wants to become the best recycling city in the world, so we want you to continue to use your green recycling bags to keep up good habits for when the crisis is over.

Please note that,your weekly collections for recycling and food waste will return to normal from Monday 1^stJune.

This means that:

• Green recycling bags and food waste will be collected from each property every week, with black bag waste and hygiene waste collected every fortnight

• Green garden waste, bulky collections and the glass trial will remain suspended until further notice

• One-off green garden waste collections will continue to take place for the last weekend in May

• We plan to re-open our Recycling Centres at Lamby Way and Bessemer Close as soon as possible.

If you're unsure if an item can go into your recycling bag, please check our Recycling A-Z.

Council Tax Advice Texts and Emails

Usually, at the end of April, Cardiff Council issues reminder letters to residents who have not paid their first Council Tax instalment of the new financial year, and to those who owe Council Tax from the previous year.

However, given the current COVID-19 situation, Cardiff Council has not issued reminder letters this year, and instead has now started to send advice texts and emails to those residents that have provided a mobile phone number or an email address.

Following a pilot in Heath, Canton and Pontprennau last week, the Council has started to send advice texts and emails to other areas, with residents living in Radur, Tyllgoed, Llanisien, St Fagans, Tongwynlais, Trowbridge, Whitchurch, Grangetown and Thornhill now starting to receive them.

If this approach proves to be an effective method of encouraging residents to access the help and support available, including applying to the Council Tax Reduction Scheme, advice texts and emails will be rolled out further.

Help and Advice