Some of Gwynedd’s recycling centres will open again from next week.

Five of the county’s eight centres will be open for pre-bookings  from May 26, the council’s Cabinet has confirmed.

The centres at Bangor, Caernarfon, Dolgellau, Ffridd Rasus in Harlech and Pwllheli will be open for Gwynedd residents visiting in cars who have booked a specific timeslot between 9am and 4pm Tuesday to Saturday but closed on Sundays and Mondays.

Addressing the virtual meeting of the cabinet, held over the internet, council leader Dyfrig Siencyn announced that much preparation had been put in place to ensure the safety of both staff and the public and will strictly require users to book a slot beforehand.

Despite this, the Garndolbenmaen, Blaenau Ffestiniog and Bala recycling centres will remain closed for the time being as the council assesses how the new arrangements bed-in at the other sites.

A spokesman for Gwynedd Council confirmed that the service at the five recycling centres will be limited to cars only, and users must register their number plates beforehand, but will be extended to include vans and trailers as soon as possible.

He added: “Due to the social distancing rules, a limited number of time-slots will be available to ensure the safety of residents and council staff and those without an appointment will not be able to visit the centres.”

Councillor Catrin Wager, Gwynedd Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways and Municipal, confirmed that the move follows the recent change in national regulations which now allow councils to plan re-opening recycling centres, as announced by the Welsh Government.

She went on to stress that those displaying COVID-19 symptoms, those living in a household with someone displaying symptoms of the virus or who are shielding should not visit the recycling centres at all, with only one person allowed out of the car to unload.

She added: “However, it’s really important that residents understand that this will be a limited service for cars only to start with and that every visit must be booked in advance.

“We would urge residents to help to ensure the new arrangements works as smoothly as possible by sorting out as much of their items for disposal before they get to the centre and to ensure that they fully observe the social distancing rules at the centres to protect their own health and that of our staff.

“For this new arrangement to work, we are appealing to Gwynedd residents to use the same restraint they have shown throughout the lockdown period.

“The stay at home message remains in place in Wales, and residents should only consider travelling to our recycling centres if they are unable to store items safely at home or if the items cannot be collected as part of the Council’s weekly household recycling collections.

“It is possible that there will be queues at times as the new arrangements bed-in – please be patient and respect the staff who will be doing their best to get everyone through the centre as safely and as quickly as possible.

“For those Gwynedd residents who have large items they need to dispose of, we are pleased to confirm that our bulky waste collection service will be available shortly.

“Details of how to book will be available on the Council website in the coming weeks, with collections due to re-start from mid-June.”

To use the council recycling centres, residents will need to book a slot online by visiting www.gwynedd.llyw.cymru/recyclingcentres, using the Council’s website or app or by phoning the Council’s contact centre in advance on 01766 771000.

The new system will be open to take bookings from 8:30am on Friday, 22 May.