Household Waste Recycling Centres
Hampshire County Council provide residents with a local facility where they can dispose of their bulky household rubbish for free. Twenty four of these points, known as 'Household Waste Recycling Centres' (or HWRCs), can be found in Hampshire, while the unitary authorities of Southampton and Portsmouth provide one each in their respective cities.
These sites are sometimes referred to as 'tips' or 'dumps' but have an important recycling function. The HWRCs in Hampshire have an average recycling rate of 53%, which is above the national average. This benefits the taxpayer by minimising the cost of disposal for the remaining unrecyclable rubbish.
Each site is run by a private contractor on the Council's behalf. These contractors are regulated by the Environment Agency, and are contracted to recycle or re-use as much of the deposited rubbish as possible. The Council and the contractors have signed up to an improvement plan for the HWRCs, aimed at improving the customer service and experience for householders when they visit a site.