The controversial new booking system to use the Crowborough Household Waste and Recycling site has been launched.
East Sussex County Council decided earlier this year to introduce a booking system for anyone who wanted to use the site and others – despite thousands of people across the county opposing the plans.
The new system starts on 24 November and residents have been able to book by phone or online since 10 November. After 24 November you will no longer be able to simply turn up at the site in Farningham Road.
The council says the new booking system for all of the county’s waste sites will improve queues, deter business and trade waste which should not be disposed at the taxpayer’s expense, and ensure only East Sussex residents get to use the facilities without charge.
It has introduced a new online portal giving residents the opportunity to book a slot online, but people can also book by telephone. The slots can be booked up to 14 days in advance and are generally 30 minutes – or 15 minutes at some sites.
Arriving at the site you need to have details of your booking and the council says you may be asked to show proof of residence, for example a driver’s licence. People who want to use the site who do not live in East Sussex now have to pay £8.75 for each visit.
The council also insists waste sites will continue to be free to use for household rubbish. The introduction of a booking system for all of its 10 household sites will save the council £50,000.
The decision is controversial because it came despite a big public response to the council’s consultation. Of the more than 5,000 who replied, 91 per cent responded negatively. Officers admitted that 72 percent, or 4,352, responded “extremely negatively”. There was more public response about the Crowborough site than the others.
But the council says in other areas of the country where people had opposed booking systems, they had soon become accustomed to it. More than 50 per cent of councils now operate some kind of booking system for their sites.
It also insists a Govt report in 2023 showed there was no evidence of a rise in fly-tipping linked to the introduction of booking systems. Neither Kent nor West Sussex had seen an increase in fly tipping when they introduced their booking systems, it claims.
For more visit: https://www.eastsussex.gov.uk/rubbish-recycling/household-waste-recycling-sites/escc-crowboroughhwrs