THREE household recycling centres (HRCs) in Dorset will close for essential cleaning and maintenance.

Sherborne HRC in West Mill Lane will be closed to the public on Wednesday, February 28, and Thursday, March 1. It will re-open for use at 10am on Friday 2.

The Wimborne site in Brook Road will be closed all day on Wednesday, March 7, and Thursday 8. It will re-open as usual at 10am on Friday 9.

Christchurch’s HRC in Wilverley Road, Somerford will be closed on Wednesday, March 21, and Thursday 22. It will reopen at 10am on Friday 23.

The annual deep clean consists of thorough cleansing, landscape maintenance, relining of parking bays, painting and general repairs to steps and recycling containers.

Karyn Punchard, director of the Dorset Waste Partnership, said: “We have chosen a relatively quiet time of year and the least busy part of the week to carry out this work, minimising disruption for local people as much as possible. For practical and safety reasons, we need to close these sites to visitors during this period.

“The deep clean is part of a planned maintenance programme for all our HRCs built into our contract with operators W&S Recycling. As a result, there is no extra cost for the deep clean treatments.”

During the two-day closures, local residents can use any of the other HRCs in Dorset or hang on to their waste until their local centre re-opens.