Operative Handbook: Brackley Lane Household Recycling Centre

Your role

As a site operative at Brackley Lane Household Recycling Centre, your main job is to help members of the public put their waste in the right place. Good advice keeps recycling rates high and keeps dangerous items out of the general waste. This section of the handbook describes the layout of the site and the main duties at each point.

How vehicles move

Cars enter from Brackley Lane through the entry lane in the middle of the south side of the site. A barrier at the end of the entry lane is raised by the operative on duty after checking that the vehicle is not a commercial van. Vehicles then follow the one-way road, which runs through the centre of the site, and leave by the exit in the north-east corner. Members of the public must never be allowed to reverse against the flow of traffic.

Beside the entrance

To the left of the entry lane, in the south-west corner, is the oil tank, where used engine oil is poured from cans into a sealed container. Check that the tank is closed after every use. To the right of the entry lane, in the south-east corner, is the staff cabin, which contains a kettle, a heater, the first-aid kit and the radio charger. Please keep the cabin tidy, as visiting managers use it for meetings.

Along the road

Halfway along the western side of the one-way road is the reuse shop, where good-quality furniture, bicycles and toys are sold cheaply instead of being thrown away. Items for the shop should be set aside before they reach the skips. On the opposite side of the road, against the eastern fence, is the battery bank, a set of locked boxes for car and household batteries. Batteries can catch fire if they are damaged, so never let them be placed in general waste.

The back of the site

The largest containers stand along the northern boundary. Garden waste is collected in the north-west corner and is made into compost at another site. Next to it, to the east, are the rubble skips for bricks, soil and broken tiles. The scrap metal containers are in the north-east corner, beside the exit. Between the rubble skips and the scrap metal is the mattress bay, a covered area where old mattresses are stacked so that they stay dry before collection.

Safety and conduct

Wear your hard hat, gloves and high-visibility jacket at all times. Never climb into a container to remove an item, even if a member of the public asks you to. If someone becomes aggressive, step away and radio the site supervisor.