Colchester Recycling Centre booking system criticised by councillor

Berechurch Ward Councillor Dave Harris has spoken to the Gazette about what he has described as Essex County Council’s “failure” of a booking system.

County Hall has been operating a system which requires residents to pre-book slots at recycling centres, since March 2023.

The system was made permanent across all the county’s 21 recycling centres earlier this year.

System - signage for a recycling centre (Image: Credited)

The council says the system has helped manage demand across the recycling centre network to reduce the queues and congestion that were being experienced at peak times.

However, Mr Harris visited the Colchester Recycling Centre, in Maldon Road, he found it 'practically empty' despite the system saying all the appointment slots had been booked up.

He is not the first person to vent their frustration with the controversial system with numerous residents frustrated at the process. 

Mr Harris said: “If you are going to book a  Colchester recycling centre slot you won’t get anything for the next ten or 12 days.

Frustrated - Councillor Dave Harris (Image: Steve Brading)

"But I’ve been up there and you drive in and they check your booking appointment, they let you in, but half of the bays are empty.

“We were aghast with how far ahead you have to book a slot, it is not fair.

“It won’t tackle flytipping, as having no slots at the facility for a week and a half is not helping people obey the law.

“I feel so frustrated, if you have booked slots and people may not be turning up, I don’t know what the solution is, but Essex County Council will have to come up with something.

“The reason they brought it in was due to immense queues into the tip.

Location - Colchester Recycling Centre (Image: Newsquest)

“I don’t see the same problem happening at Clacton, Braintree and so on, Colchester is very busy but it is quite peculiar.

“I booked the first available slot on August 5 and it’s in my diary, if I don’t turn up, there is no penalty, It’s a failure in the system.”

A spokesman for Essex County Council defended the system. 

They said: “We appreciate residents’ patience as we experience increased demand for Colchester Recycling Centre, affecting how far in advance residents need to book.

“We are creating greater capacity for same-day bookings and strongly urge residents to cancel bookings they no longer need, which immediately frees up slots for others on the system.

"This can be done by clicking the link in the booking confirmation email.

“As part of our commitment to continually refine the booking system since it transitioned to a countywide service in February, we are looking at new technology to allow staff to record the number of unused slots more effectively and amend bookings in real-time.”