Booking system - household waste recycling sites

Overview

Booking system - East Sussex Household Waste Recycling Sites

Booking systems for Household Waste Recycling Site (HWRS) visits are currently used successfully in Kent, West Sussex and Hampshire. We are interested in views from East Sussex residents on the possible introduction of a booking system here.

Kent County Council introduced a booking system to manage social distancing during the pandemic. When they asked their residents about continuing with their booking system, 80% of users found it extremely easy or quite easy to make a booking. Their report can be read here: Booking to visit a Kent Household Waste Recycling Centre | Let’s talk Kent

West Sussex County Council carried out a consultation in 2021 on continuing with the booking system that was introduced during the pandemic. Over 60% of respondents strongly agreed or agreed that the booking system should be maintained. Over 80% said it was extremely easy or quite easy to make a booking. Their report can be found here: https://westsussex.moderngov.co.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?ID=1490

The experience of our neighbouring County Councils is that booking systems have provided a range of benefits to residents, including:

• help save East Sussex County Council as much £50,000 a year, and also help ensure only residents’ waste is being disposed. The proposals are part of the authority’s work to identify areas where savings can be made to address an expected £55 million funding gap next year.
• a deterrent to traders who try to tip business waste for free at our sites - a cost unfortunately passed on to the taxpayer / resident
• less queuing, particularly at sites that can get very busy
• less traffic at and around the HWRSs, because customers take their waste in bulk and visit less often
• reduced crowding within the HWRSs
• less disruption to customers as site servicing can be planned around customer demand
• residents have been able to plan their time more effectively with the certainty of a booking and less chance of getting caught in a queue
• allows staff to concentrate more on managing the site and less on managing queuing traffic

The consultations carried out by our neighbours showed that some residents were concerned that booking systems might lead to a rise in fly tipping.  A 2023 report commissioned by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) concluded there is no evidence of a rise in fly-tipping linked to the introduction of booking schemes.

Our neighbours in Kent and West Sussex did not see an increase in fly tipping because of introducing their booking systems.

Context

Waste is managed in the county across the two tiers of local government. The District and Borough Councils are the Waste Collection Authorities (WCAs) who arrange for waste and recycling to be collected from residents. East Sussex County Council (ESCC) is a Waste Disposal Authority (WDA) and provides sites for the WCAs and residents to deliver waste and recycling to.

ESCC is responsible for providing Household Waste Recycling Sites (HWRSs) which residents use to dispose of their household waste.

The network of ten sites in East Sussex is a popular service with residents. The sites receive over 1 million visits per year and handle about a quarter of the total waste that East Sussex residents produce. The sites also recycle compost or reuse almost 60% of the materials that are brought to them by residents and provide containers for up to 36 different materials.

We operate sites at the following ten locations:

Our sites are busy and have been getting busier. Between March 2023 and April 2024, we served over 1.2m visits. So far this year we’ve seen 6.8% increase in site visits across all locations compared to 2023/24.  Maresfield has seen the biggest increase in site visits with an increase of 18.8%. 

We think a booking system will help some site-specific issues. For example, our site at Eastbourne has a problem where a small number of visitors insist on parking illegally outside the site before it opens, so they can be first in. This blocks the highway and causes difficulties for our neighbours. We think a booking system would remove the motive for this kind of behaviour and improve the current situation.

What are other councils doing?

Around 50% of Councils in England now operate some sort of booking system for their HWRS, including West Sussex, Hampshire, Kent and West Berkshire.

Where booking systems have been implemented at neighbouring authorities, users’ feedback has been broadly similar: most users like the benefits of the scheme and say they would prefer to keep it.

Councils that started using booking systems a few years ago have been able to improve the user experience which later adopters are now able to utilise from day one including options such as:

• the ability to book visits on the same day
• improved bookings via website, mobile applications and telephone
• the ability to visit multiple times in one day to help with busy times, e.g. moving house

We would want to include these convenient options as standard if we introduced a booking system.

When we have looked at how other Councils across the country are approaching how customers access HWRSs, it is clear that many see the benefits of using a booking system and wish to continue operating one or consider the introduction of one in the future.

We’re seeking views on making this improvement to our HWRSs.

Equality Analysis

To help ensure that we are meeting our obligations under the Equality Act 2010, we have undertaken an Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA) on the booking system. This is to assess the impact the booking system could have on people due to their protected characteristics (age, sex, gender identity, disability, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, pregnancy or maternity, marriage and civil partnership and carer’s responsibilities). The EqIA is available to view at the bottom of this page. 

We recognise that some people may find it difficult to use the booking system. We want to make sure there are no barriers to accessing our HWRSs. We will make sure that the system is compliant with digital accessibility standards so that customers using screen readers or with low vision can use the website. For those who cannot access the internet, bookings will be able to be made via telephone. The EqIA will be updated after the consultation to consider any relevant information we receive.

Why your views matter

We want to hear your views on the proposals, to help us understand how your HWRS service can best meet your needs. All feedback will be considered.

Any consultation response will need to be submitted by the closing date via the survey link below.