Cornwall Council says that feedback from its recycling centre has been ‘overwhelmingly positive’.

At the end of last year, Cornwall Council announced that it would be trialling a new booking system at seven of its household waste and recycling centres (HWRC).

Whereas users were previously able to attend their local centre as and when they needed to, the new approach would require residents to pre-book a selected time slot to attend.

Following the introduction of the system in both Bude and Launceston the reaction from residents has been largely frustrated. One Bude local told the Post: “There is widespread bewilderment among Bude HWRC users regarding the necessity of this trial. It seems the council is attempting to solve a problem that doesn’t exist. According to Councillor Carol Mould, the cabinet member responsible for waste transfer sites, the trial will end in September 2025.”

However, despite this, Cornwall Council has said the response has been ‘overwhelmingly positive’.

A spokesperson from the council explained: “To date, there have been 167,000 bookings made at the seven trial sites. More than 8,000 bookings have been made for Bude HWRC and 9,000 for Launceston HWRC.

“The feedback we have received from site users has been overwhelmingly positive.”

The council says that the new system was implemented to improve both road safety and waiting times.

The spokesperson continued: “The booking system has been designed to reduce waiting times and improve road safety at the Household Waste and Recycling Centres (HWRCs).

“The booking system has helped reduce queuing on the road at Bude HWRC.

“At Launceston HWRC, the booking system enables us to stagger the number of people visiting the site throughout the day. This in turn reduces waiting times and improves the visitor’s experience.”

Residents are being asked to share their feedback on the system via: [email protected].