The state-of-the-art center at the former Rolls-Royce site in Pallion will officially open its doors on Tuesday 1 February.
With solar panels, rainwater harvesting and energy efficient lighting, the new facility is much more energy efficient than the current site and will contribute to the city’s low carbon ambitions. It will also include a reuse store due to open this summer where people can donate things they no longer want, to recycle and resell, rather than throwing them away.
The new HWRC will handle everything from bagged household and garden waste, cardboard and wood, small and small appliances, televisions and computers, small fridges, metal, soil, rubble, plates plaster, fluorescent tubes, motor and vegetable oil, textiles to domestic recycling. including plastic, cans, glass and paper. Approximately 53.7% of the 9,600 tonnes of waste currently delivered to the Beach Street site is recycled. The rest is sent to a waste-to-energy facility on Teesside. Planning permission for the new center was granted in October 2020 and work began on site the following December.
The City Council previously allocated £5million for the Pallion scheme and a mini recycling center in the Coalfields area as part of its budgeting process in 2018.
Speaking at the time, City Council leader Councilor Graeme Miller said: ‘Residents have told us they want to see better household waste recycling facilities and that’s something we factored into our plans for this fantastic new centre.
“Beach Street desperately needs to be replaced with something that’s both bigger and better.
“The new Pallion Recycling and Waste Center will offer much improved facilities and better access, which for the first time will include a walk-in option and a recycling and reuse shop.
“It will also meet Sunderland’s bulky waste and recycling needs in the future as the town continues to grow, including any future recycling opportunities.”
