'It's a farce and designed by someone who needs to justify their wages' - Your experiences of Shropshire Council's recycling centre booking system two weeks on
Shropshire Council introduced a controversial new booking system for access to its five household recycling centres in the county earlier this month.
The change on November 4 has meant that householders can no longer just turn up to the council tips in Bridgnorth, Craven Arms, Oswestry, Shrewsbury and Whitchurch. Instead those visiting the centres will now need to book in advance, with slots available up to six days in advance.
Bookings for cars, vans and trailers can be made online via the Shropshire Council website – or by phone by calling the council’s customer services team.
Fifteen-minute slots will be available for cars, with 30-minutes slots (or 60 minutes at weekends) available for vans/trailers.
The council said the change willl lead to “significant increase in recycling and help smooth demand throughout the day, reducing congestion and queuing and making the sites safer”.
However, two weeks on from the launch and residents have written to the Shropshire Star or taken to social media to explain their experiences, with many criticising the new system.
Tom Seymour from Bridgnorth described the booking system as a “farce”.
He said: “It is designed by someone who needs to justify their wages. In all the years I have been using the site I have never been asked where I live nor have anyone I know, so how do they know people from Wolverhampton and Stafford use the facilities. It's absolute rubbish.
“As for congestion, what’s a few minutes wait. It takes longer to book a slot than I have ever had to queue."
Tom Duffy also used the booking system to book a slot in Bridgnorth.
He said: “Just received the information on booking a slot to be able to take household rubbish to the tip. What a long process that is.
“Next year the council will be spending huge amounts to clean up all the fly-tipping that will be the result of this stupid idea to save money.”
Beverley Jones took to Facebook to lament her experience of the system to use the tip in Shrewsbury.
She said: “Well my first trip to the recycling centre this morning, arrived on time for a 10.15am drop off to find two men at the gate, one checking l lived in Shropshire and the other man checking my car registration.
“I drove to the green waste window and the shutter was down , I asked what l was to do and was told that the area was being emptied and l was to wait 15 minutes. What a joke!”
Simon Whitehead from Whitchurch, said he used his local tip a few days after the launch but was denied access.
He said: “Firstly, we live two miles north of Whitchurch, about 100metres over the county border in Cheshire. Whilst we spend all our income in or around Whitchurch, since we do not live In Shropshire, we are now expected to make a 36mile round trip to go to Crewe, our nearest Cheshire tip.
“That’s hardly eco-friendly, it will take me about 1.5 hours & will cost me at least £10 in fuel.
"Second, as a cost-saving exercise, this cannot possibly be saving the tax-payer money as they’ve installed an electric barrier on the gate - at what cost? and there’s now a need to man said barrier at all times!! Lunacy. And what a tedious job.”
What has Shropshire Council said?
However, Shropshire Council said they had received positive feedback.
Ian Nellins, Shropshire Council’s deputy leader and cabinet member with responsibility for waste management, said: "The rollout of the new system has gone smoothly, and we thank residents who have adapted quickly to the need to book ahead of their visit.
“The booking system will save Shropshire Council money by stopping people who do not live or pay council tax in Shropshire coming to the county to use our recycling centres – a cost that is then met by Shropshire residents. With four of our five HRC sites very close to the county’s border, this has been a long-standing issue.
“In the first two weeks we have seen a significant fall in the number people visiting from outside of the county, so the system is already helping to achieve that aim.
“The booking systems will also help reduce the cost of disposing of trade waste by making it more difficult for traders to use the sites when they should be using other facilities – and we have already seen a significant fall in the number of vans visiting the sites.
“Residents tell us that they also appreciate not having to queue at busy times, the ease of booking and the improved experience at the centres.”
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