Recycling Centres update

Changes to opening times were implemented in October 2023. West Lothian Council can no longer afford to keep all five sites open full time and operating hours were reduced, which allowed the council to keep all five recycling centres open.

West Lothian Council has also joined many other councils by introducing a booking system. A booking system ensures local residents can access all five recycling centres and reduce queuing times, and allows the council to ensure a smaller number of staff overall can cover all five sites. It was also hoped that a more robust booking process would discourage unauthorised commercial operators and residents living out with West Lothian from using the sites.

Overall, the usage figures highlight that the number of customers booking visits is increasing month on month.

In brief:

• So far, 76,555 bookings have been made (October 2023 to 31 December 2023) which accounts for 78% of the available booking capacity in October, 85% in November and 90% in December.
• Two of the reasons the booking system was implemented was to reduce commercial operators' mis-using the recycling centres to dispose of their commercial waste, and to prevent non-West Lothian residents and businesses travelling into West Lothian to use the centres. The amount of waste being taken to West Lothian's Recycling Centres is significantly down (-29%) overall since the changes were put in place.
• Despite the significant drop in waste being taken to CRCs, fly-tipping rates have remained static.
• Figures also highlight that whilst there is available capacity at all five centres, some have more available capacity than others. Oakbank, Linlithgow and Broxburn have the highest percentage of bookings made against visits available, with Whitburn and Blackburn having significantly more availability overall
• Whilst the percentage of visitors booking and not showing up is generally low, some sites do have a significant number of 'no shows' with Linlithgow and Broxburn having the highest percentage of 'no shows'. On average, 18% of bookings made for Broxburn Recycling Centre do not result in a visit.  Whilst Oakbank, Blackburn and Whitburn have a much lower number of 'no shows'

All customers booking online receive a confirmation and a reminder email, both of which contain links to amend or cancel bookings.  When a booking is cancelled the visit time automatically becomes available for someone else to book. Customers are being urged to cancel their visit if they don't need it.

Head of Operational Services Jim Jack said: "The council faces some difficult choices and we are unable to maintain the same levels of service across all areas of our business. We simply don't have the budget to do so and by reducing opening hours we have been able to keep all five centres open.

"We are used to planning and booking many services in our personal lives and this change requires customers to change the way in which they access our Recycling Centres. The levels of usage highlight that the majority of customers have adapted and we are grateful for their efforts and understanding.

"There are at least two recycling centres open each day in West Lothian and all five are open at the weekend when demand is at its highest. It is important to recognise that if you want a specific time and day, you may need to travel to a site that is not your nearest site.

"When you compare that to neighbouring councils, including much larger councils, our level of service remains very good. Falkirk, which is a comparable council in terms of size to West Lothian, has two Recycling centres which are both open part time and also require customers to book. I think that puts the service we provide into perspective."

Jim Jack added: "Any change requires a period of adjustment and this change is no different. We'd like householders to help us to get the number of missed bookings down, which would allow more slots to become available for someone else to book, and free up availability, overall.  We will look at ways to encourage that customers to do that."

He added:

"The data highlights that changing opening hours at CRCs has not impacted on the levels of fly-tipping. Even though the amount of waste going through our CRCs is down significantly, the amount of fly-tipping has remained the same. This is further evidence that there is not a direct and significant link between the illegal fly tipping and access to Household Community Recycling Centres.

"The majority of the fly-tipping that we're collecting is commercial waste, not household waste disposed of at CRCs."

An update is being provided to the Environment and Sustainability Policy Development and Scrutiny Panel next Tuesday.

Here's some data from our CRCs - you can  view all this, plus read the commentary/context by reading the paper [227KB]

Bookings

No Shows by Recycling Centre

Availability by Recycling Centre

Flytipping Activity