With the high volume of flood damaged material from homes and businesses, the Cumbria County Council and district councils have now put in place arrangements to support those affected.
This is the advice for households:
- The Household Waste Recycling Centre ‘Permit Scheme’ has been temporarily suspended across to allow householders with flood damaged waste unimpeded access at this time. This means vans and trailers can be used to transport flood waste.
- Kendal HWRC opening hours have been extended to 6pm closure until further notice; full details of the opening hours for all HWRCs can be found on the County Council’s website.
- Specific local arrangements are being made by District Councils to deal with local household waste needs; members of the public should check their local District Council’s website for details.
- The council is advising that householders check with their insurers before disposing of any flood damaged waste.
- Householders should keep checking the council's website for regular updates as the situation develops.
Advice for businesses:
- They should contact their insurers in the first instance to ensure they are taking the appropriate and correct steps for dealing with any flood damaged waste under their own specific policy conditions.
- Where businesses already have commercial arrangements in place for the collection of their waste, they are advised to contact their existing waste management provider for advice and support.
- For small businesses that do not have any alternative arrangements in place, and are unable to rely on the support of an insurance company, the County Council is able to provide support with the collection and disposal of flood damaged waste to assist with the recovery process. Contact the county council’s Waste Helpline on 0845 055 1118.
A spokesperson for Cumbria County Council said:
"Disposing of flood damaged materials is a big job and we want to try and make that as easy as possible for people. With the suspension of the HWRC permit scheme people can now take vans and trailers into the sites we will hopefully speed up the process.
"We also know small businesses can really struggle in the aftermath of flooding so we're stepping up to help them as best we can."