Booking system at Alkerton has not affected fly-tipping levels
16/07/2026
It has helped stop illegal trade waste disposal
The introduction of a booking system at Oxfordshire’s Household Waste and Recycling Centres has made no difference to the amount of fly-tipping taking place.
That’s according to the County Council, which says the change has helped stop dozens of people from illegally disposing of trade waste at the public’s expense.
The booking system came into operation in January, meaning people heading to sites like the Alkerton centre had to register their visit in advance.
Since then data on fly-tipping occurrences hasn’t indicated any new trends.
But the number of visits to centres across the county is down 36 percent when compared to the same period last year. The County Council believes this is due to people taking more each time so they can reduce the number of trips and some out of county users are now visiting their local authority facilities instead.
Prevention of trade abuse of the service has also contributed.
The booking system has given the council the ability to identify suspicious patterns of usage, identifying companies undertaking property clearance activities, handymen, professional gardeners and other businesses generating waste as part of their commercial operations.
This has resulted in 67 users having had their access blocked, saving the taxpayer thousands of pounds in disposal costs.
Councillor Laura Gordon, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment and Economy, said: “Household recycling centres are for household waste – not trade waste.
“Trader abuse of the HWRCs costs taxpayers thousands and undercuts legitimate traders who are paying to dispose of waste.
“The measures introduced earlier this year are preventing commercial waste from illegally entering HWRCs, ensuring taxpayers are not covering disposal costs and preventing unfair competition impacting legitimate trade waste operators.”
Published: by the Banbury FM News Team
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