The controversial and unpopular new booking system to use the Crowborough Household Waste and Recycling site will start in November.
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 system starts on 24 November.
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 is introducing a new online portal giving residents the opportunity to book a slot online, but people will also be able to book by telephone. 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 in recommending councillors should agree to the new scheme, officers said that in other areas of the country where people had opposed to 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, they added.
Officers also insisted 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, they added.
East Sussex County Council has published a Q&A on its website answering some of the questions and concerns residents have raised. You can find it here: https://www.eastsussex.gov.uk/rubbish-recycling/booking-system-coming-autumn-2025-faq