A Cornwall councillor for Launceston has criticised the controversial introduction of time slots at the town’s local recycling plant.

Cornwall councillor for Launceston North and North Petherwin, Adam Paynter has publicly criticised the new booking system which has been implemented at Launceston’s household waste recycling centre.

Back in November, Cornwall Council introduced a new booking system at the site which now requires residents to pre-book a specified time slot throughout the day, during which, residents can attend and dispose of their waste. However, the new approach has been met with some backlash, with residents claiming the booking system is unnecessary.

Criticism of the system came to a head after one local user discovered other residents’ personal information was available to all on the booking website - Cornwall Council has since apologised for the website issues, stating: “We are very sorry that some Cornwall residents have been affected by this issue. We took immediate action to remove the information and we are looking into why the error occurred. We have reported the data breach in accordance with the Data Protection Act.”

Now, the Launceston county councillor has taken questions directly to Cornwall Council.

Cllr Paynter said: “I have consistently questioned the need for Launceston tip to have a booking system.

“I will protest against the Tory trial becoming permanent.”

Cllr Paynter approached the council with a number of questions, firstly asking if the council consulted before making the changes. In response, a Cornwall Council spokesperson said: “No consultation was held prior to the trial commencing, however we welcome feedback throughout the trial from users of the service.”

Cllr Paynter also asked: ‘How will this affect the capacity at the sites specifically the number of available spaces in future compared to actual number of visits?’

The response from the council was: “The number of allocated slots is based on the capacity of each site, and an average 15 minute turnaround time. This will be periodically reviewed throughout the trial to ensure the number of allocated slots is set at the appropriate level to ensure maximum availability without hindering site safety. The trial has so far shown good availability of slots, with approximately 64 per cent of visitors booking on the day.”

The council also explained that Suez will be monitoring those who do not attend their slot.

A spokesperson added: ”As part of the checking-in process, Cornwall Council and it's Contractor, Suez, will be able to monitor no shows and assess appropriate action for repeat offenders as part of the trial.”

However, when asked what the average queuing time is at Launceston’s centre, the council stated that it does not know this information.

A spokesperson from Cornwall Council said: “This information is not held because there are no cameras in place at Launceston HWRC to calculate the average queuing time.”

• What are your thoughts on the new booking system? Do you think it was a good introduction? Let us know on our socials, or send us a letter via: [email protected]