New booking system coming for all Household Waste and Recycling Centre visitors

Anyone hoping to dispose of waste will need to book a slot

The days of a last minute trip over to the tip at Alkerton to get rid of some rubbish will soon be gone.

Oxfordshire County Council is planning to introduce a new booking system with people only able to visit their Household Waste and Recycling Centres in an allocated slot.

The council already operates a booking system for residents wanting to dispose of small quantities of DIY waste, but this will now be extended to all users. Currently, people can visit at any time during opening hours without pre-booking.

The council says that a booking system will enable better traffic management, reduced queues, more targeted communication about visits and better recycling rates, with staff able to help visitors separate their recyclable from their non-recyclable waste.

It will also help prevent trade waste from being illegally disposed of, which will save council taxpayers’ money.

Acknowledging there will be those who feel the introduction of a booking system will lead to increased fly-tipping, the council points to a study carried out in 2022 which indicated there was no evidence of this.

Although the booking system will be online, residents without internet access will be able to book slots over the telephone.

Councillor Pete Sudbury, Deputy Leader of Oxfordshire County Council with Responsibility for Climate Change, Environment and Future Generations, approved the new arrangements at a meeting yesterday.

He said: “Our residents have helped Oxfordshire top the national recycling, reusing and composting table for 10 years in a row, so we know they are committed to reducing waste. We are confident that they will see the benefits of this new system, which will help them avoid long queues by booking a time slot in advance, and lead to better customer service from our HWRC employees.

“Booking systems have already been successfully introduced in many other parts of the country, including Swindon, West Berkshire, Suffolk, Kent and Gloucestershire, for several years. We consulted other authorities where similar systems are in place and received strong feedback about how it can improve the service.”

No date has been set for the booking scheme to come into operation. The cost of the new system is estimated at £300,000 for additional staff and £25,000 for computer software. It was hoped the new system would achieve savings of £200,000.