Residents are being invited to have their say on proposals to keep a permanent booking system in place at all 21 Essex recycling centres.

Essex County Council has today, Monday 9 October, launched a consultation on the booking process currently being trialled at Essex recycling centres. This will give residents the chance to have their say on proposals to keep the booking system in place at all 21 recycling centres on a permanent basis.

The booking process was first trialled for large vehicles using the nine van-friendly sites. It was then extended to all vehicles using Rayleigh Recycling Centre last year.

In March this year, the trial was extended to all recycling centres for all vehicles. The aim of the trial was to help manage demand at peak times, reduce queues and congestion around the sites, and to reduce the misuse of sites by commercial vehicles.

An evaluation of the booking process has shown that based on user survey feedback, overall satisfaction with the booking system is high. The evaluation shows that congestion and queuing have also decreased since the introduction of the booking system. The consultation is now open to gather residents’ views on whether to keep the booking process permanently at all sites.

Councillor Peter Schwier, Essex County Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate, Environment, Waste Reduction and Recycling, said: “The booking process is helping us to manage demand across our operating hours and improve efficiency on the sites.

“The trial has been evaluated to show how it has worked so far, and we have gathered initial resident insight via a feedback survey.

“We are proposing to keep the booking process at all recycling centres, but we want to know what you think. Your feedback is an important part of the decision-making process."

The consultation is open for responses from Monday 9 October until Sunday 19 November.

To respond to the consultation and have your say on the booking process at recycling centres, please visit www.essex.gov.uk/recyclingcentrebookings.