Booking system could be introduced at Lincolnshire's tips

Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) is considering introducing a booking system at the county’s 11 household waste recycling centres in an attempt to tackle long queues and improve customer experience.

Members of LCC’s environment scrutiny committee were told that there are an estimated 1.2 million visits a year to the tips, which processes about 66,700 tonnes of waste per year.

At a meeting on Friday, June 19, councillors heard that the annual waste tonnage at these centres has increased by almost 50 per cent since 2021 – meaning that the current mode – which has unrestricted access, minimal monitoring and limited traffic control – is unsustainable and needs to be reformed.

A public consultation – which had more than 2,000 responses – found that queuing and traffic management issues were the most common complaints, with some staff also reporting increasing levels of confrontation as a result of customer frustration linked to the long queues.

Officials also said costs are rising and the cost of delivering the current service has increased to a forecasted £7.7 million in the 2025/26 financial year, equating to 30 per cent of the county council’s waste services budget.

Environment chiefs are considering a proposal to introduce a booking system across all of Lincolnshire’s household waste recycling centres which would allow controlled, staggered access – and would aim to reduce queuing and congestion and improve on-site safety.

This would include enabling residents to book slots to go to one of the sites in a bid to reduce congestion and ensure there is a more evenly spread capacity across the sites.

But Coun Cain Parkinson (Conservative – Grantham East) was against the proposal, saying it would be harder for people to access the sites.

He said: “There are so many different ways we can go about this. But it’s quite clear that this is a decision being made by officers for the benefit of officers, and not for the benefit of working people.

“It is penalising working people by stopping them from being able to go to the tip.”

Coun Parkinson added that the proposal was “insane” and would reduce availability for “everyday people”.

Coun Ashley Baxter (Independent – Deepings West and Rural) said he wasn’t against a booking system but didn’t think it would solve all the problems.

He said: “My main point is the booking system might help, but it’s not going to solve the problem now – and even that’s not going to solve the problem longer term.

“What we need is more accessibility to sites and I think people would be less concerned about potentially saving the money and more interested in being able to get rid of their waste in a timely, accessible, friendly, effective fashion.”

After the meeting, executive member for the environment, waste services and planning, Danny Brookes (Reform UK – Ingoldmells Rural), said: “The problem was we’ve had protests outside the recycling centres because of the queues, from businesses – they can’t maintain the businesses – residents aren’t happy.

“We couldn’t just not do anything. We had to do something.”

Coun Brookes defended the proposal and denied claims that it would restrict access.

He added: “It’s not restricting it. It’s making it more efficient. It’s making it safer for the residents and for the staff.

“The staff are suffering abuse when people have been queuing for an hour and a half and they get in there, so I think it’s making it more efficient.

“There’s no restriction on time. It’s the same length of time – just more efficient, more streamlined.”

Officials said the proposed booking system could save approximately £1 million a year, because of reduced disposal and haulage costs.

The proposal will be considered at an executive meeting on July 14 where a final decision will be made.