Tip booking system to remain in place
Most national Covid restrictions may be ending on Monday, but residents will still have to book in advance to take their rubbish to the tip.
An online booking system has been in place at Warwickshire's Household Recycling Centres since May 2020, requiring residents to book a slot at least the day before visiting the sites.
While there has been some understanding for the reasoning of the system being in place and even some positive comments about the lack of queues, there have also been grumbles about the pre-planning that is now needed to visit.
A spokesperson for Warwickshire County Council said: "Warwickshire County Council recognises its responsibility to protect the health and safety and welfare of visitors and staff at the Household Waste Recycling Centres. Visitors need to feel safe as they deposit their waste and recycling, and staff need to be kept safe to ensure the resilience of the service we provide.
“As COVID restrictions ease, the Council is keen to maximise the capacity of the sites. To this end, we plan to increase parking and bookings across the sites to allow another 5,000 bookings a week. This is an increase of about 1/3 on current booking availability. Bookings are generally available right up to the morning before the day being booked, especially for afternoons which are less busy than mornings. Throughout the summer, all the sites are open late on Wednesdays so this is a good opportunity for people to visit mid-week.
“All visits require a booking and this system has proved very popular with many people not least because it means that people do not have to queue for very long at all. However, we recognise that some customers do not like having to book a visit so we will keep our booking system under review.
“We recognise that people have different views about the risk posed by COVID. We will provide a safe environment at the HWRCs by ensuring people have enough space to allow each other room and not come into close contact. We ask all our customers to respect each other and to allow each other space. Staff will continue to offer advice and direction but will not be able to offer physical support.”