New booking system for Lincolnshire recycling centres coming in December

Residents will be able to start booking future slots from November 30 say county council officials, who say this will give residents the opportunity to book a convenient time before the new system comes into effect.

The change is being introduced to help manage visits more effectively as Lincolnshire's recycling centres continue to get busier. The council says at peak times, large numbers of vehicles can arrive together, leading to queues and congestion both within recycling centres and on surrounding roads. This caused anger among neighbouring businesses to Lincoln’s main recycling centre.

The hope is that introducing booking will reduce pressure at the busiest times and help traffic move through sites more smoothly, although critics have warned that any restriction on visits may lead to increased flytipping by residents unable to get in when it suits them.

However Lincolnshire County Council insists there will be sufficient booking capacity to accommodate the number of residents currently using Lincolnshire's recycling centres – the difference being that visits will be spread throughout the day rather than large numbers of vehicles arriving at the same time.

A proportion of appointments will also be available for same-day booking, subject to availability, giving residents flexibility.

Councillor Danny Brookes, Executive Member for Environment at Lincolnshire County Council, said: "We know how important our recycling centres are to residents and we want visiting them to be as straightforward and consistent as possible.

"Our sites are getting busier and one of the challenges we see is large numbers of vehicles arriving at the same time. That can mean queues within the sites and, at some locations, traffic building up on the roads outside.

"Booking will allow us to spread those visits more evenly across the day. This isn't about stopping people using our recycling centres – there will be sufficient capacity for the number of residents currently visiting our sites – it's about managing those visits better.

"We'll be sharing plenty of information over the coming weeks, so residents know exactly what they need to do before the system comes into effect."

Residents will be able to book a visit up to two weeks in advance and will be given a 15-minute time slot in which to arrive at their chosen recycling centre.

When making a booking, residents will select the recycling centre they wish to visit, their preferred date and time, their vehicle type and the types of waste they are bringing.

Confirmation will be sent by email or text message, and residents will be able to amend or cancel their booking if their plans change.

Residents who are unable to make a booking online will be able to book through the county council customer call centre.

A council spokesperson added: “We certainly wouldn't want booking slots to go unused when other residents could benefit from them.

"We would encourage anyone who can no longer attend their booked slot to cancel or amend their booking using the link in their confirmation email or text message. This will release the slot for someone else to use.

“As with any new system, we will be monitoring how it operates once introduced, including booking patterns and the number of people who do not attend. The system will allow us to identify repeat non-attendance and any emerging patterns of misuse, helping us understand whether any further measures are necessary.”

For more information visit www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/HWRCbooking