Booking system set to be introduced at Lincolnshire’s tips
It's aimed to reduce long queues and staff intimidation
A booking system will be introduced at Lincolnshire’s tips in a bid to tackle long queues and reduce intimidation of staff.
Members of Lincolnshire County Council’s executive have now agreed to introduce a new system at the county’s 11 Household Waste Recycling Centres.
After the meeting on Tuesday, July 14, executive member for the environment, Danny Brookes (Reform UK – Ingoldmells Rural) said: “The service that we’ve got is creaking under the pressure that it’s now facing – and we didn’t have a choice. We had to do something.
“You’ve got to take action when something is struggling, so that’s the reason why we’ve brought the booking system in.”
Coun Brookes explained the booking system aims to reduce customer frustration and reduce queues.
He added: “Obviously, if you’ve got a time slot, you turn up at your time slot, you’re not having to queue.
“The staff are dealing with frustrated motorists who’s been queuing for possibly an hour.
“So I can understand why the motorists are frustrated, especially if they go into that site and say ‘well that waste stream is closed. You’ve got to now take your rubbish back home.’
“There’s no wonder that they’re frustrated. Our staff shouldn’t have to be dealing with that.”
Councillors were told that there are an estimated 1.2 million visits a year to the tips, which process about 66,700 tonnes of waste per year.
They were also told that the annual waste tonnage at these centres has increased by almost 50% since 2021 . Officials say that this means that the current model – which has unrestricted access, minimal monitoring and limited traffic control – is unsustainable and needs to be reformed.
A public consultation – which had more than 2,000 responses – found that queuing and traffic management issues were the most common complaints, with some staff also reporting increasing levels of confrontation as a result of customer frustration linked to the long queues.
Officials also said costs are rising – with the price of delivering the current service increasing to a forecast £7.7 million in the 2025/26 financial year, equating to 30% of the county council’s waste services budget.
During the meeting, executive member for children’s services, Natalie Oliver (Reform UK – Woodhall Spa and Wragby) said she felt it was important for the council to introduce a new system that is ‘effective immediately’ so that the various issues can be tackled.
She said data could then be gathered to ‘look at other options’ in the future.
Waste bosses will now develop a booking system which will allow ‘controlled, staggered access’.
It would also allow residents to see periods of high demand, enabling them to choose times when the tips are quieter when the book to go.
A phone booking system will also be developed to ensure that people who don’t want to book online or don’t have access to the internet can still book a slot.
The booking system is expected to cost approximately £30,000 per year for the authority to operate.
The booking system will not be introduced immediately. Officers will begin developing the scheme and will roll it out a later date.