Recycling centre to close for three months

A household recycling centre will close for three months for essential improvement and environmental upgrade works.

Hempsted Household Recycling Centre in Gloucester will shut from 13 August until mid-November.

Gloucestershire County Council said six new electrical waste compactors would be installed, with a reuse shop opening at the site later this year.

Councillor Ashley Bowkett, cabinet member for nature, climate and waste reduction, said other recycling centres in the county would remain open, adding he did not believe the closure would lead to an increase in fly-tipping.

The new compactors will be used for general waste, garden waste and cardboard, and will be powered by 100% renewable electricity, while the reuse shop will allow items brought to the centre to be repaired and given a second life.

The site's surface and concrete walls will be improved during the works, and better drainage will be installed to manage rainwater more effectively and reduce the risk of flooding.

Wingmoor Farm recycling centre near Bishop's Cleeve is already open seven days a week, and Pyke Quarry near Horsley will do this temporarily while Hempsted is closed.

In terms of alternatives to using a recycling centre, Bowkett said: "Anyone who is wanting to dispose of their waste should really check carefully that they're using a licensed waste disposal company."

Fly-tipping in Gloucester rose from 1,336 incidents in 2023/24 to 1,513 in 2024/25, according to the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra).

Ann Maidment, regional director for the South West at Country Land and Business Association, said: "Fly tipping places an unbearable burden on farmers and landowners who have had enough.

"It is not a minor nuisance – it is a serious rural crime often driven by organised criminal networks."

But Bowkett said he was confident fly-tipping would not increase due to the closure of the site, and that there were "always bookings available" for other household waste disposal sites in Gloucestershire.

"I'm pretty sure the vast, vast majority of our residents across our county are law-abiding citizens who understand the way the waste is disposed," he added.

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