Cheshire West Recycling take over the running of Household Waste Recycling Centres

Cheshire West Recycling (CWR) have taken over the management of Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) on behalf of Cheshire West and Chester Council.

The Council’s Cabinet approved a decision at a meeting in October 2024 to award a contract to CWR for an initial period of eight years, starting from 1st April 2026.

CWR are a Council-owned company and have been collecting residents’ waste and recycling since April 2020. They offer the kerbside collection of dry recycling, food waste, residual waste, garden waste and a bulky item collection service. In addition, CWR offer recycling and waste collections to Council owned Company Brio Leisure, some local schools, and operate a fleet maintenance services division.

HWRCs are places where residents can dispose of extra household waste or recycling, as well as items that are not collected through the kerbside waste and recycling collection service. The Council operates seven HWRCs across the borough, in Chester, Ellesmere Port, Frodsham, Neston, Northwich, Tattenhall and Winsford. Each year, they are visited around 740,000 times and process approximately 40,000 tonnes of household waste and recycling.

The Council’s HWRCs had been managed by HW Martin Waste Limited since 2008. The Council carried out a review of potential delivery models and concluded that delivering services through its wholly owned Council company will provide the flexibility needed to deliver services efficiently over the longer term. This will enable the Council to respond to changes in environmental legislation and develop local partnerships to stop unwanted household items going to waste.

The contract award is the next step in delivering the Council’s Waste Management Strategy, which was agreed in 2021, following the introduction of new recycling containers and new fleet of waste collection vehicles.

Cllr Karen Shore, Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Transport and Highways (including Waste), said:

“HWRCs are vital to the Borough and making sure we recycle as much as possible; they allow residents to dispose of and recycle items that can’t be collected through the regular kerbside service.

“CWR have done a fantastic job operating the kerbside waste and recycling collection service since 2020. Now that they are taking over the running of our HWRCs, residents will continue to receive a high-quality service. The synergy and consistency alongside the kerbside collection service not only offers the best value for money for the Council, but also gives us the chance to increase our re-use and recycling rate, and achieve our goal of the Borough becoming carbon neutral by 2045.”

“I would like to thank the previous provider, HW Martin, for their work with the Council since 2008 to deliver this popular service. They have successfully increased recycling performance across the sites, exceeding their contractual recycling target of 60 percent in 2023-24. The investment they have made into the service, such as the upgrades to the Chester HWRC in 2017, delivery of contract efficiencies, and the introduction of three re-use shops has helped us improve the customer experience.

“The transition to CWR is expected to be seamless, but there could be some minor short-term disruption during the first few weeks as CWR embeds processes and staff become fully familiar with on‑site systems. We’ll also be sharing more information about upcoming changes to the way our HWRCs work in the coming months, as a result of the consultation with residents in 2024 and Cabinet’s approval of changes last June.”

Jody Sherratt, Managing Director of CWR, said:

“We’re proud to take on the management of the Council’s Household Waste Recycling Centres and to build on the strong foundations already in place. Our priority is to ensure a smooth and seamless transition for residents, with continuity of service from day one. By bringing HWRCs together with our kerbside collection service, we can deliver a consistent and efficient operation. Over time, we will work with residents, the Council and our workforce to increase reuse, create social value opportunities and continue improving recycling outcomes across the Borough.”

HWRCs across the Borough have now moved to summer opening hours. For more information on HWRCs in Cheshire West and Chester, and their opening times, visit:

Find a recycling centre | Cheshire West and Chester Council

To see what can be recycled as part of your regular kerbside collection, visit:

What goes in my bin/box? | Cheshire West and Chester Council