Hampshire County Council has urged residents to only book a slot at a Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) if they intend to use it.

The council made the plea last week (14 August) after revealing that its larger HWRCs were regularly seeing 60 no-shows on the weekends, preventing other residents from using those slots.

The booking system has been brought in as part of new measures to reduce the spread of the Covid-19 virus. The pandemic saw HWRCs across the country close before slowly reopening with significant disruption around the middle of May.

To ensure social distancing on site, many HWRCs implemented new systems including making residents book slots for visiting HWRCs to reduce overcrowding, and operating number plate systems where only cars with certain number plates are allowed to visit HWRCs on certain days.

Councillor Rob Humby, Deputy Leader and Executive Member for Economy, Transport and Environment said: “On a typical Saturday or Sunday, we have seen up to 60 no-shows at the bigger sites which means, of course, that’s 60 people in that area who could have used that slot. With the August bank holiday coming up, when HWRCs are often busier, I’d ask people to make sure they only book a slot at their local HWRC if they intend to use it.

“We are still operating at reduced capacity in order to keep safe social distancing measures in place for staff and residents, so I would ask people to only book slots they need so that there are enough to go round. It’s easy to cancel a booking if you change your mind or can’t make a slot after all – and as long as this is done the day before, the slot can be allocated to someone else in your community who needs it. Please don’t let your waste slot go to waste.”

Hampshire residents can cancel or amend a booking for an HWRC slot via a link received in their booking confirmation email.