Future of Recycling Centre booking system explored

Opinions will be sought on the making the popular Book to Recycle system permanent

Plans for a public consultation on making a trial booking system at selected Recycling Centres permanent has been confirmed by West Sussex County Council.

Since April 2021, a pilot booking system – Book to Recycle – has been in operation at six of the eleven Recycling Centres in West Sussex to manage demand at peak periods and reduce queuing vehicles.

Since the trial began over 300,000 bookings have been made for recycling slots at Bognor Regis, Crawley, Horsham, Littlehampton, Shoreham-by-Sea and Worthing Recycling Centres.

Book to Recycle has greatly reduced waiting times, cut congestion and minimised traffic disruption. The reduction in queuing vehicles has improved air quality for neighbours and lowered carbon emissions.

In addition, the County Council has also confirmed that the Book to Recycle trail will be extended to include Burgess Hill Recycling Centre.

Both decisions are subject to formal approval by Thursday October 14, 2021.

Book to Recycle has proved popular with a survey of users finding that 79% of people already want the system to be made permanent.

99% of respondents either strongly agreed or agreed that queuing time has improved since its introduction.

Prior to the scheme, it was not uncommon to have vehicles waiting to enter some Recycling Centres for 45 minutes and sometimes this was extended to an hour and half during peak periods.

Deborah Urquhart, West Sussex County Council Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change said: “The changes are designed to make it easier for people to use our Recycling Centres - and we’ve already seen that the booking system does just that.

“Feedback we’ve had so far tells us Book to Recycle has reduced waiting times and overcrowding at peak periods, making the whole process faster and easier.

“The trials have also improved accessibility for nearby residents and businesses, who previously were impacted by queueing vehicles entering Recycling Centres.

“We’d like to hear from as many local people as possible on the proposals to let us know if the scheme should be made permanent.”

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