THE CHALLENGE

When Ards and North Down Borough Council contacted us, this recycling rate was below 50% and significant changes were needed to hit the 70% target. Ryan Wilson, Recycling Project Officer at Ards and North Down Borough Council supports this by stating that “prior to introducing the HWRC Booking System we were experiencing an increase in waste arisings and a decline in recycling rates”. They believed managing access and increasing recycling through their Household Waste Recycling centres (HRCs) would be vital to achieving the 70% recycling target by 2030.

Ryan further explained that they were having “huge issues with residents from outside of their borough” using their sites and that waste tourism was causing them to “suffer from congestion and queuing during busy periods”. Waste tourism wasn’t only causing congestion, it also further increased the volume of waste deposited at all 9 recycling centres within the borough.

THE SOLUTION

To tackle the waste tourism problem, it was of paramount importance that we incorporated an address lock which only allowed residents within the borough to access the sites. At the point of booking, the form produces an error message if the address entered is outside of the borough and will display the authority that serves the resident’s address. This has been huge in reducing waste arisings too, as Ryan states that “since the implementation of the booking system we have recorded a drop in waste arisings of over 2000 tonnes”.

Pentagull’s HWRC Booking system provides both the functionality and flexibility to not only meet the needs of the authority, but exceed expectations. The solution enables all 9 Recycling Centres in the borough to never be caught out by unexpected demand, as each resident is allocated an available time slot of their choice. “We no longer experience any waste tourism and the queuing/congestion has been virtually eliminated” explains Ryan. On top of this, a key requirement of the Council was to introduce restrictions on the number of visits for residents and as a result we have implemented a fair use limit of 15 bookings per address per year.

Another very useful feature the solution offers is a reporting dashboard containing detailed statistical reports that provide a visual representation of site data. These reports outline the popularity of each of the 9 sites and the most common waste types brought on-site by residents. The system also includes a DVLA vehicle look up, which captures the make and colour from the vehicle registration entered on the form, allowing site staff to easily recognise the vehicles due to arrive.

THE FUTURE

Looking towards the future, we are confident that our proactive approach and commitment to exceeding customer expectations will further strengthen our relationship.

Since implementing our HWRC Booking system, Ards and North Down Borough Council have seen a 3.5% increase in recycling within the first few months. We anticipate that our system will continue to drive improvements and be instrumental in achieving the Council's obligation of a 70% recycling rate by 2030.

Pentagull remains dedicated to providing exceptional support through our service desk. Additionally, the insights from our reporting dashboard will continue to offer valuable statistics, aiding the Ards team in making informed decisions.