Bristol actor Joe Sims has become the first person to chuck their recycling into one of the containers at the new South Bristol Recycling Centre in an opening ceremony with a difference this morning.
The star of Broadchurch deposited a large sewer pipe into the hard plastics container, alongside Mayor Marvin Rees, who had brought recycling from his own home.
The new £4m facility in Bedminster has finally opened today, Tuesday June 21, after a long and painful process of getting the project done ten years after it was first given the go-ahead.
Read more: All you need to know about the new South Bristol Recycling Centre
Marvin Rees and Joe Sims also threw 'seed bombs' into an embankment at the back of the Hartcliffe Way site to help create a wildlife haven, and checked out a Re-Use centre that has been included in the recycling site, where staff reclaim items left at the tip to restore and sell them again.
One of the reasons Joe was asked to do the honours was because, during lockdown, he was one of many Bristol residents who complained of queueing for three hours to use the recycling centre at St Phillips - something which Bristol Waste bosses reminded him of.
"It wasn't a complaint," he joked. "I loved it. It was in lockdown, I was away from the kids and listening to a podcast." The Mayor said it was a 'huge day'. "This is a huge day - how many years we've worked to make this happen, how many years the city has promised it and now it's got done.
"And this kind of facility is really going to be a critical symbol of Bristol as well. A city's relationship with waste says a lot about the city - how it generates waste, the conditions and opportunities to reuse it, to recycle and with waste-to-energy as well.
"We know as a city we've been on a journey over the last six years of really revolutionising our relationship with waste, and I think this will be a part of that, so it's a really pleasing day. But also, it's great to be in the south. It's good to have jobs coming here," he added.
The idea of a recycling centre in South Bristol - the other two are north of the river in St Phillips and Avonmouth - has long been on a to-do list. Back in 2012, the council announced it would happen, and the idea formed part of the bid to make Bristol the European Green Capital, but the plan was dropped by former mayor George Ferguson, who said the council couldn't afford to run it, even if it was built.
Marvin Rees took on the project when he was elected in 2016 and said it would happen, but it has taken another six years to finally open.
The boss of Bristol Waste, the council-owned waste company for Bristol, is Tony Lawless. He said getting the new recycling centre built had been 'challenging'. “Delivering a project of this scale, and of such importance to the sustainability of our city has been incredibly rewarding and challenging.
“The pandemic made us value our precious resources more. It highlighted the need to waste less and recycle more in our own homes and beyond. This new site will provide a solid infrastructure for the south of our city to lead the way to a more sustainable future. The recycling centre will help save valuable resources, offer low-cost household items to local residents and help us reach our ambitious recycling targets," he added.
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