Recycling centre bookings to become permanent for 21 Essex centres
It's after three phases of trials by the council
Essex County Council's finalised plans to keep a booking system in place for its 21 recycling centres across the county.
The plans are subject to a three-day call-in period, and have been confirmed after three phases have been trialled since 2022.
In February 2022 nine van-friendly sites say the process introduced, with it progressing to cars at Rayleigh Recycling Centre in Jun 2022.
All Essex County Council services were included in the trial in March 2023 - with a public consultation launching at the end of last year.
With over 18,000 people completing the survey, the Council found 58% of those who responded were in favour of the process staying for cars, increasing to 72% for vans.
Councillor Peter Schwier, Cabinet Member for Climate, Environment, Waste Reduction and Recycling said:
"Efficient waste services play an important role in increasing recycling and reducing waste. This is why we are pleased that a decision has been taken to keep the booking process permanently.
"The booking process was introduced to help smooth service demand throughout the day. Incidents of congestion and queuing have reduced since the trial started. This has made our sites safer and more efficient.
"Our final evaluation of the booking trial shows that overall satisfaction with the booking process is high. Going forward, we will use the consultation feedback to enhance our waste services.”