Have your say on whether Recycling Centre booking system should be made permanent

A six-week consultation on whether a booking system should be made permanent at some Recycling Centres has been launched today (November 10) by West Sussex County Council.
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A trial booking system – Book to Recycle – has been in place at Bognor Regis, Crawley, Horsham, Littlehampton, Shoreham-by-Sea and Worthing Recycling Centres (RCs) since April 2021.

The council said the scheme has greatly reduced waiting times and disruption at peak periods to residents, businesses, and the highway network – which suffered because of traffic tailbacks and queuing vehicles.

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A consultation has now been launched on the proposal to operate the booking system on a permanent basis at the six trial sites and extend to include Burgess Hill Recycling Centre.

Long queues at Worthing Recycling Centre earlier this year.  Pic Steve RobardsLong queues at Worthing Recycling Centre earlier this year.  Pic Steve Robards
Long queues at Worthing Recycling Centre earlier this year. Pic Steve Robards

Prior to the scheme, the council said, it was not uncommon to have vehicles waiting to enter some Recycling Centres for 45 minutes and sometimes this was extended to 90 minutes during peak periods.

It said the system has proved popular with over 420,000 customers booking a recycling slot in advance since the trails began.

Deborah Urquhart, cabinet member for environment and climate change, said: “We’re always looking for ways to improve services at Recycling Centres to make it easier to do the right thing with waste.

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“Feedback so far tells us that customers love being able to recycle without enduring a long delay at busy periods. We want to ensure residents have their say on the proposals - including the finer detail - and tell us exactly what they think.

“I urge as many people as possible to respond to the consultation and let us know if the scheme should be made permanent.”

Residents are allowed a total of five trips each calendar month.

Currently, slots are available up to 14 days in advance but must be booked by the day before.

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You can take part in the Book to Recycle consultation and share your views by visiting www.westsussex.gov.uk/recyclingcentrebooking

The deadline for members of the public to respond is December 21, 2021.