Residents react to West Sussex tips booking system

Readers have spoken out about West Sussex County Council’s introduction of a booking system at some of its tips.
Worthing tip after last year's first lockdown. Picture by Steve RobardsWorthing tip after last year's first lockdown. Picture by Steve Robards
Worthing tip after last year's first lockdown. Picture by Steve Robards
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Green light for booking system trial at six West Sussex rubbish tips

Here is a selection of letters received on the subject:

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Tip booking idea is sensible

People who write letters complaining of the queues at our local recycling centres should have woken up to the fact that West Sussex County Council is about to start a booking system.

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This is such a sensible idea and we should be grateful for our well-managed centres with helpful staff.

Surely the long queues have meant that a lot of us want to help the whole process of recycling our waste. However I do wonder if our waste is really recycled and not just sent to landfill somewhere else on our planet. An article on this issue in the Herald would be welcomed.

Rob Ferguson

Hillbarn Lane, Worthing

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Consequences of tip booking system

Many of your readers have written in about the likely effects of recycling rationing.

Personally I don’t think there will necessarily be an increase in fly-tipping. I believe the most likely outcome will be more recyclable items being disposed of in general waste.

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Some households go to the trouble of keeping bins for small electrical items and scrap metal and store it up for their next visit.

I wonder if they will be bothered to book a disposal slot or just put the items in general waste? It’s called nudge economics and the council has successfully nudged thorough recyclers to not be bothered.

Phil Williams

Oakland Close, Horsham

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Restricting our access to tips

High demand from residents has resulted in West Sussex County Council making decisions to limit the number of visits to recycling facilities to once a week , booking slots in advance , the days when they remain closed staying the same.

It seems to me that if you build hundreds of new homes in an area then the demand for local public services will increase .

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These new homes also provide a not insignificant increase in the amount of council tax revenue the council will be able to collect.

I would have thought that the council’s obligation would be to ensure that their public facilities can cater for the increase in population that is occurring rather than restricting their availability to residents.

Peter Boyden

Crabtree Lane, Lancing

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Open the tip seven days a week

When the local refuse tip opened seven days a week it provided the community with a very good service.

Ever since the opening hours were cut to five days a week there have been huge queues of traffic all waiting to gain entry on the days that it is open, and on particularly busy days it has caused traffic to tail back onto the A24. Waiting times in the queue have also become ridiculously long.

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Rather than opening the facility seven days a week to solve this problem, West Sussex County Council has decided to stick with five days, introduce a booking system and limit people to one visit per week.

For many, the need to visit the tip is a spur-of-the-moment requirement. People cannot always pre-determine their need or frequency. I am sure many residents have had to visit the facility more than once in a day.

The introduction of a booking system complicates the process. You will have people turn up to use the facility who have not made, or do not realise that they require, a prior booking which will involve vehicles being refused entry and turning around in the one-way traffic. Plus you will get people who have made bookings and do not turn up. It sounds like potential chaos.

If visiting the local refuse tip becomes a complication many people will be encouraged to fly-tip their waste or not recycle it.

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The costs of administering the new booking system, additional traffic management, a decline in valuable recyclable material, and an increase in fly-tipping, cannot outweigh simply opening the tip seven days a week.

Nick Costin

Meadvale, Horsham

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Fly-tippers already causing a problem

The new restrictions for the local tip have yet to be implemented and the fly-tippers are already causing misery to local residents.

Why do these unscrupulous individuals think it’s acceptable to leave their unwanted items on someone else’s property?

Maybe it would benefit everyone if the Littlehampton tip was moved to a larger, more suitable site and the opening times extended.

Mrs. J. Wilson

West Way,

Littlehampton