£5million Sunderland recycling centre shortlisted for national award

The £5million centre, which opened in February 2022, will find out next month if it has been successful in scooping the title of Civic Amenity site of the Year in the prestigious Awards for Excellence in Recycling and Waste Management.Being shortlisted for the award comes just a month after the official opening of a new re-use shop on the site – which is operated by the St Vincent De Paul Society charity.

By the end of March this year, the shop had already saved more than 15.1 tonnes of treasured items from going to energy from waste since it opened to the public.

Sunderland City Council built the HWRC in response to residents' demands for bigger and better household waste and recycling facilities.

Marc Morley, the council's director of environmental services, said: "We're delighted to see Pallion Household Waste and Recycling Centre being shortlisted for this prestigious national award.

"The centre was built with the intention of making it easier for residents to recycle and dispose of their waste and it's been really popular with residents since it opened last February.”

He added: "The opening of the Revive reuse shop last month has also been a welcome addition to the facilities already on offer at the site.

"It means that clothes, toys and household items that people no longer have a use for can now be recycled and resold at affordable prices rather than going to energy from waste, so it's brilliant to see the HWRC going from strength to strength."

Managed by Suez, the centre operates a booking system and is open every day of the year apart from Christmas Day.

Last year it had almost 200,000 pre-booked visits.

The Revive shop opens seven days a week.

All the proceeds go to the St Vincent de Paul Society which is dedicated to tackling poverty and helping some of the most deprived people in society through their person to person support.

This includes a befriending service, debt advice and the provision of emergency food parcels.