Booking system frequently asked questions

Answers to questions you may have about the booking system

Booking or cancelling an appointment

  • Appointments can be made at any time by visiting the Book to Recycle booking system.

  • We are working to offer as many slots as possible in order to make sure that all residents who wish to use the centres are able to. If you cannot book the exact time slot you want, you will need to book an alternative slot. All available appointments are publicised on the booking system.

    Please do not call our Customer Service Centre to ask them for an appointment that is unavailable - our advisors are not able to book slots that are not available online.

  • You can use the link at the top of your confirmation email to cancel your booking.

    If you have a query about booking, you can call us Monday to Friday, 9.00am to 5.30pm on 01243 642106. All available appointments are shown on the booking system.

  • The booking system requires you to enter a vehicle registration number registered with the DVLA to complete your booking. If you are hiring a vehicle, refer to your hire agreement, which should include the vehicle registration number.

  • If you are unable to access the booking system online, you can call our Customer Service Centre on 01243 642106 and they will be able to assist you. Ensure that you have the registration of the vehicle you will be attending in available at the time of calling as you will need it to book.

  • This will be fine if the person you're booking for is a West Sussex resident and able to show identification on arrival. If you are making the booking for someone else, make sure you enter the details of the person who will be attending the appointment and their vehicle registration number, which cannot be changed once the appointment is booked.

  • There is no penalty for missing your slot. However, you will have to rebook. The number of slots is limited, so if you do not need your appointment please cancel and allow someone else to use it where possible.

  • Tradesmen are required to use the Transfer Station and weighbridge to dispose of their waste. This is a separate service and does not fall under the Book to Recycle system.

    The Recycling Centres are, by law, provided for the disposal of household waste by householders and are not open to traders.

Using Recycling Centres that require advance booking

  • The system is designed to give all West Sussex residents fair access to the centres in order to dispose of recycling and waste that cannot be accepted in the regular kerbside collections.

    By setting a reasonable limit of five visits per month, some residents may choose to make use of other forms of waste disposal such as home composting, reuse, or a skip for larger DIY works at home.

    If you are producing a large amount of waste at one time, for example when moving, you could consider hiring a skip or contacting a waste removal firm.

  • If you attend a centre that requires an appointment to visit without pre-booking, you will be asked to leave.

    All Recycling Centres in West Sussex require an appointment.

  • No. The permit scheme will cease from Monday 12 February 2024.

  • Yes. To confirm proof of residency in West Sussex, you will still be required to show ID.

    Evidence has shown that people living outside West Sussex have historically been using the Recycling Centres. The Recycling Centres are provided for residents who reside in West Sussex. Allowing people from outside the county to access the centres would increase disposal costs and place an additional burden on local taxpayers.

    Acceptable forms of ID include current driving license, council tax bill, utility bill, current bus pass and current disabled permit.

  • Yes, as you are entering the centre you will need to book an appointment to visit the Billingshurst reuse shop.

Special circumstances

  • If you are producing a large amount of waste at one time, for example, by clearing a house for a deceased relative, you could consider hiring a skip or contacting a waste removal firm.

    You can also phone our Customer Service Centre on 01243 642106 to speak to us about your extenuating circumstances. We should stress this is for unusual situations where it would be very difficult for people to make other arrangements.

  • No. The service is restricted in order to give fair access to as many people as possible every week. In these circumstances we recommend you hire a skip or contract a waste removal firm.

  • Strictly speaking, carrying waste on behalf of other people requires you to have a waste carrier licence. It is therefore technically illegal to take waste to a centre for someone else. While we understand that people will sometimes help out relatives, friends and neighbours, this should not be a regular activity and should therefore not require more visits than the system allows for.

Giving your views about Book to Recycle

  • During the trial, bookings could be made from 18 March 2021 with appointments taking place from 29 March 2021 onwards.

    At the beginning of the trial, appointments were restricted to one per month and had to be booked a day in advance of the required visit.

    Reviews were made during the trial as a result of feedback received. In June 2021, this led to an increase in the number of visits residents could make per calendar month from four to five. Later in the trial, we were also able to test same-day bookings at Worthing Recycling Centre which eventually expanded to all centres in the scheme.

    Following the successful trial period and public consultation, the booking system was made permanent from 1 April 2022.

  • A review of the one visit per week restriction that the trial started with took place at the end of May 2021. From 1 June 2021, the new limit to the number of visits allowed is five per calendar month.

  • In July 2023, the West Sussex County Council Cabinet received a report on the Council Plan and the medium-term financial forecast, showing a budget shortfall of £171m over the next five years, of which £45m was expected in 2024-2025 before any increase in Council Tax.

    A balanced budget must be set each year, and over the summer all services considered opportunities to reduce costs and align expenditure with council priorities.

    Extending the booking system to all Recycling Centres across the county could potentially save £200,000 a year, due to a decrease in the amount of waste received at the Recycling Centres following the introduction of booking requirements, and by diverting materials from residual waste to recycling.

  • Between 10 November and 21 December 2021, a public consultation was carried out in West Sussex using the online consultation portal. Paper copies were also made available at Recycling Centres and libraries.

    The consultation showed that 68% of residents strongly agreed/agreed that the booking system should stay in place. Since rolling out ‘on the day’ booking, it has proved popular with residents and is well used.

  • A recent review has shown that most centres already operating the scheme were able to divert more materials to recycling, reducing the amount of waste being processed and making the centres more efficient. This helps to lower the cost of disposal and ultimately saves taxpayers’ money.

    The Book to Recycle system also helps us prevent the illegal deposit of commercial waste at Recycling Centres.

    Additionally, a recent customer satisfaction survey found that 96% of those asked thought the system was either ‘excellent’ or ‘good’.

Addressing your concerns about the scheme

  • Household collections are operated by district and borough councils. Some areas are already collecting additional items at the kerbside, such as small electrical items and textiles. We are working with others who are considering introducing these collections in their areas. We encourage residents to make full use of their kerbside recycling, green and general waste collections wherever possible.

    Before planning a visit to your local RC, check what can be disposed of in your local household collections.

  • We have considered the use of webcams at RCs a number of times, but they are not practical for several reasons:

    • Most RCs have sharp turnings outside the centres - a camera on the gate would not provide a helpful view in these cases.
    • There are practical and legal restrictions to placing cameras elsewhere (such as local roads).
    • While cameras would be up to date when viewed at home, the situation can change in between leaving the house and arriving at the centre.

  • Many of the issues caused at the centres are by people using them at peak times, for example arriving early and queuing before the centre opens, while at other times they are quieter. Using the booking system to spread visits more evenly enables all residents to gain access without waiting in queues for extended periods.

  • While some income is derived from the sale of recyclable material, it contributes very little to offset the £64m cost of the service as a whole. 

    The cost of opening the centres for seven days a week would not be offset by any increase in the amount of recycling or waste brought into centres during additional opening hours.

  • Most of the money raised by the council tax you pay is spent on the most vulnerable people in our community. For example, 33 per cent is spent on vulnerable adults and 25 per cent on vulnerable children and schools.

    Recycling Centres account for about 0.1 per cent of the budget. Therefore, there will be no council tax refunds.

  • There has been a slight decrease in the trend of recorded fly-tipping incidents across West Sussex since January 2021, and those which have occurred have largely involved commercial waste.

    Due to this, we would recommend that anyone using a waste disposal firm ensures that they see the correct paperwork (for example, a waste carrier licence), and you can make sure the firm is registered with the Environment Agency on their website.

    We take fly-tipping very seriously and work as part of the West Sussex Waste Partnership with the district and borough councils in West Sussex to monitor and manage this. The Let’s SCRAP Fly Tipping campaign has been in operation since 2021, and the West Sussex Waste Partnership works with Sussex Police, the Environment Agency, the National Farmers Union, and others, to help prevent fly-tipping across the county.

  • WSCC and West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service ask people not to have garden bonfires, especially at the current time when more vulnerable members of the community have been self-isolating and need to get fresh air into their homes.  

    Using a bonfire to dispose of household waste is illegal and garden waste bonfires cause a nuisance if they adversely affect others.   

    We encourage garden composting and offer a subsidised composter to residents who wish to purchase one. See further information at getcomposting.com.

  • The booking system ensures a steady flow of customers can access our Recycling Centres and means residents can travel to a centre knowing they will be able to access it within their allocated time slot. This provides residents with more opportunity to recycle by ensuring items are disposed of in the correct area, rather than just being put into general waste.

    Having a steady flow of customers gives staff more time to offer recycling advice and split large bags that often contain items that can be recycled. A recent review has shown that most centres already operating the scheme were able to divert more materials to recycling, reducing the amount of waste being processed, making the sites more efficient and helping to lower the cost of disposal.

    The Book to Recycle system also helps us prevent the illegal deposit of commercial waste at Recycling Centres. The centres are funded by local council taxpayers for the disposal of household waste.

    Businesses must meet their own waste management costs.

  • The Book To Recycle system allows staff time to assist residents and provides more opportunity to ensure items are disposed of in the correct area, rather than just being disposed of in general waste.

    Some residents may also make use of other forms of waste disposal such as home composting, reuse, or a skip for larger DIY works at home.

    The Book to Recycle system helps us prevent the illegal deposit of commercial waste at Recycling Centres, which in turn reduces the amount of waste we dispose of.

    The centres are funded by local council taxpayers for the disposal of household waste.

    Businesses must meet their own waste management costs.

  • There are currently no plans to bring any new charges in, and central government recently moved to remove charges for household DIY waste where they were in place. We removed our DIY waste charges in 2017.

    Will you be changing your opening hours or days as a result of this scheme being introduced?

    There are currently no plans to amend the opening days/times, outside of the regular seasonal changes.

  • Quite the opposite. We want to make it easier for residents to recycle. The Book to Recycle system makes visits to a Recycling Centre easy and efficient. Staff have more time to assist residents and queues can be avoided.

    Making an online booking takes less than 60 seconds and telephone bookings are still available for those who can’t get on the internet or access a computer.

    You can book a slot on the same day, or up to 14 days in advance if you prefer.

    The majority of people who already use the booking system like it and find it easy to use.

  • We believe our Recycling Centres are easy to visit and the Book To Recycle system will make this process even easier, as it will give staff more time to help and prevent queuing.

    The majority of fly-tips in West Sussex are commercial in nature and are therefore not affected by the Book To Recycle system.

    If you spot a fly-tip, or you have information relating to one, please contact your local district or borough council as soon as you can.

  • There is no evidence to suggest that booking an appointment to visit a Recycling Centre results in increased fly-tipping.

    Fly-tipping incidents has dropped in the last two years since the booking system has been in place across some of the Recycling Centres in West Sussex.

    Reducing queues by booking ahead helps improve access and our opening hours and the materials that we accept are unchanged.

    Fly-tipping is a criminal offence. If you are caught fly-tipping, or if fly tipped waste is traced back to you, you can face an unlimited fine and up to five years imprisonment. Vehicles used in fly tip offences may also be confiscated.

    We take this act very seriously and, as part of the West Sussex Waste Partnership, we work with the district and borough councils in West Sussex to monitor and manage this.

    Our Let’s SCRAP Fly Tipping campaign has been in operation since 2021 and we work with Sussex Police, the Environment Agency, the National Farmers Union and others, to help prevent fly-tipping across the county.

    Find further information about fly-tipping.