Agenda item

Booking System at Household Recycling Centres in Warwickshire

Councillor Kyle Evans informed the partnership that Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council could no longer support the booking system at the Judkins recycling centre in their area. This was because they had reports of an increase in fly tipping (3146 cases) and opposition had been received from some residents. Councillor Evans requested that more flexibility be considered by Warwickshire County Council, e.g. remove the booking system for some days or times.

Andrew Pau stated that they were planning to continue using the booking system, but this was subject to change. He raised the following points:

• It allowed space for visitors and staff to isolate/distance themselves from each other to make them feel safe/comfortable
• 15,000 time slots were made available each week, some were same-day visits
• All slots were 15 minutes long
• People who arrived without a booking at a time when the site was not fully booked, were allowed to use the site where possible
• Booking slots were increased by 5000 available weekly slots in the summer
• Sites tend to be busiest in the morning
• The booking system has spread the visits over the week instead of one or two very busy days
• People were packing their cars better and making fewer car journeys to the centres which reduced traffic/congestion/carbon emissions
• Customers generally liked the booking system because they were guaranteed entry, there were reduced queues and less people there
• Complaints were received about the booking system and all complaints were logged. Complaints received by Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council and the other councils should be forwarded to the County Council so they could respond to complaints
• Coventry, Solihull, Birmingham and Gloucestershire were still using their booking systems. Leicestershire stopped using theirs and Oxfordshire never had one
• A customer satisfaction survey will be carried out in 2021 about the booking system

In response to the Chair, Andrew Pau stated that the link between fly tipping and the booking system was monitored; Stratford District had an increase of fly tipping in the north, but this came from Birmingham, so they did not believe there was a link between the two. The Environment Agency published a paper that stated there is no link between restrictions at the recycling centres and flytipping. The Chair stated that her division in Rugby had an issue with fly tippers but they were not local residents but were more likely to be illegally flytipped commercial waste from Coventry area.

Councillor Bell stated that the leader at North Warwickshire Borough Council wanted the booking system to stop at Lower House Farm too and the customer service survey should be extended to people who are not using the booking system to see why they will not use it. Councillor Bell noted the differing views from different areas. The Chair stated that any decisions should be evidence based, so the customer satisfaction survey should go ahead, with people who use and do not use the booking system and ask participants for improvements.

In response to Councillor Bell, Richard Dobbs confirmed that EventBrite had an app so booking could be done through that.

Councillor Shenton informed the partnership that the leader and portfolio holder at Warwick District Council wanted the booking system scrapped but this view was not evidence-based. Councillor Shenton stated that he was personally for the booking system as their recycling centres worked better with it.

Councillor Evans requested a popularity survey of the booking system per borough/district, noted that EventBrite was not a great booking system and people who booked over the phone could be waiting for 30 minutes although evidence provided by Ruth Dixon stated that there was an average 24 second waiting time for residents to book a slot over the phone and advice was given to elderly residents.

Andrew Pau agreed to carry out a survey to find this out. He stated that EventBrite was clunky but easy to use and residents could book recycling slots on behalf of someone else.

Councillor Evans requested a copy of the equality impact report that was done for the booking system.

The Chair stated there may be an issue at recycling centres during winter months as operating hours reduce. WCC committed to monitoring the number of slots available.

Items for next Agenda

Carbon data for waste collection from the Boroughs and Districts

HWRC Booking system