After changes made where you now have to prove you are a resident to even attempt to visit the recycling centre to now an idea where you may have to pre-book a visit. Has the County Council an objective to make it as difficult as possible to get rid of your waste?

According to West Sussex County Council, COVID-19 precautions at West Sussex’s Household Waste Recycling Sites (HWRS) to maintain social distancing have unavoidably reduced the number of visitors safely on site at any one time.

This has apparently led to significant congestion and queueing on their Highway Network at certain sites and at times the police have advised closure of sites for road safety reasons.

Now, with the possibility that lockdown measures will be eased soon there is concern that the “spring surge” in demand to use the site will pick up.

West Sussex County Council is therefore considering a trial of a booking system at five sites across West Sussex.

The idea is that residents will be able to go online or call to select a specific time slot to visit the sites which they say will reduce waiting times and prevent queues on nearby roads and inconvenience to neighbouring residents and businesses.

The proposal is for the trial to cover five sites including the Crawley one from mid-March. The proposal will be scrutinised by the Environment and Communities Scrutiny Committee on Wednesday 3 March.

At the moment, residents are asked to only visit the sites for essential reasons, where they are unable to safely store recycling or waste at home. As the restrictions ease, it is anticipated more people will want to use the sites.

Residents have been encouraged to make full use of their kerbside collections, run by the District and Borough Councils, some of which also allow for small electrical items and textiles to be collected with your regular collections, but the use of HWRSs has continued at almost the same levels as before lockdown.

Deborah Urquhart, West Sussex County Council Cabinet Member for Environment, said:

“A booking system would allow us to provide a fair and equal service to all residents and also help reduce pressure on HWRSs as lockdown restrictions are lifted. Similar booking systems have been implemented in other areas, such as Hampshire, and have successfully improved the experience of using HWRSs for residents, as well as helping to manage the demand on the system.

“It should also have a positive impact on those living or operating businesses close to a Household Waste Recycling Site. Traffic would be more evenly spread across the day rather than peaking at certain times. Reduced queues would also help to reduce the environmental impact of vehicles visiting the sites and mean a smoother and quicker visiting experience for residents.

“Traffic from the sites can impact on local roads and residents, as well as having a detrimental impact on air quality due to vehicles queuing with engines running. The trial is designed to see how well the system works to reduce these.”

More information will be available on their website after the decision has been made: www.westsussex.gov.uk/recycling