Elections 2022: Should Derby people have to book to use city tip?

Rattankaur Johal said she had preferred the days before the booking system

On 5 May, people across the country will be taking to the polling stations to have their say on who runs their area.

Derby City Council is one of the local authorities hosting elections, with a third of its seats to be decided.

The city's residents have been talking about the things that matter to them and one issue raised was the continuation of Covid booking slots at Derby's waste recycling centre at Raynesway.

'We have rubbish everywhere'

Katie York said it had taken two weeks for her dad to get a slot

Katie York, 27, from Sinfin, said that although the booking system had made sense during the coronavirus lockdowns, she did not understand why it was still in place.

"At the moment, because we're having to book, our front of house looks horrible because we have rubbish everywhere [after a clear out]," she said.

"I do think it would be great if you could just go in and chuck the stuff instead of having to think about when you are going to book it.

"My dad said it took him two weeks just to get one slot."

'It was better without booking'

Rattankaur Johal said the booking system was not convenient

Rattankaur Johal, 68, from Stenston Fields, near Sinfin, said: "It used to be that you could drive there and come back.

"Now you have to do the booking. I don't like it.

"I think it was better without booking."

She said on a couple of occasions she had had to wait two weeks for a booking slot and coordinating a time that worked for her son - who helps her with the heavy lifting - had been "a struggle".

"Because we are old, we can't lift all these things - we have to ask our son to do all this," she said.

"Then sometimes [the slot] is not convenient for him."

'Most people avoid Raynesway'

Barry Boole said people are travelling with their rubbish to recycling sites in neighbouring authorities

Barry Boole, from Spondon, said he believed people were avoiding the site altogether and travelling with their rubbish to recycling centres in the county instead, which do not operate booking systems.

"Most people round here now avoid Raynesway - we go to Ilkeston tip," said Mr Boole, 75.

"It is stupid - you waste time trying to get an appointment and you can't.

"We gave up and don't even bother now."

Mr Boole described the city council's limit of 12 visits a year for each household to the site as "ridiculous".

"How do you know when you are going to remove some of your furniture or want to tip something?" he said.

A spokesperson for Derbyshire County Council said: "We have noticed a small increase in visitors to the Ilkeston site.

"Anecdotally our site staff tell us that they are aware of some people coming from Derby."

'There is no queuing now'

Margaret Spencer said the booking system had resolved the queuing problem

Margaret Spencer, from Littleover, said she believed the booking system was "much better" and had meant a reduction of queues on the site.

She said her sister regularly uses the site. "They live in Alvaston so it's just round the corner for them really. They think the booking system is good," she said.

The 69-year-old said she had heard queues on the site under the old system had caused problems for neighbouring businesses on the industrial estate.

"There is no queuing now," she said.

'No plans to change it'

The city council said the system was working well and had cut queuing

Derby Conservative Party leader Chris Poulter, who is the current leader of the city council, said the booking system was working "extremely well".

He said: "There was a major issue in terms of queuing previously, particularly at busy times of year.

"It was causing massive problems for people on the industrial estate on the approach.

"That has been resolved because the booking system contains an appropriate flow of traffic so we don't get queues. People are able to get an appointment on the day currently.

"We have no plans to change it, other than continually monitor it."

Mr Poulter added there was little or no evidence fly-tipping had increased since the booking system was introduced.

"We don't subscribe to that view," he said.

"Whilst we have experienced a small increase, it is less then the national average.

"We have tasked our public protection officers to investigate the sites of fly-tipping, so we have had a number of fixed penalties issued as a result."

Derby City Council leader Chris Poulter said there were no plans to change the system

He added if people needed to visit the site more than 12 times a year, they should talk to the council.

"What we can't afford to do is have people bringing commercial trade waste reporting to be domestic waste," he said.

'Fly-tipping has never been worse'

Nadine Peatfield, deputy leader of Derby Labour Group, said use of the site had dropped

However, some other parties said they would change the way the site operated.

Nadine Peatfield, deputy leader of Derby Labour Group, said: "The restrictions were put in place because of Covid, to keep people spaced out and safe, and made complete sense at the time.

"But when the cabinet saw the amount of savings those restrictions made, they decided to make it permanent.

"It is infuriating to see the usage of Raynesway drop since they have put that system in place and the amount of fly-tipping across the city rise.

"We have argued with them in many council meetings that there is a direct correlation. They refuse to acknowledge it.

"Fly-tipping has never been in worse than in the last two years since those restrictions have been in place."

She called for a "hybrid system" offering out-of-hours, off-peak access alongside a booking system.

"There has to be a compromise. Nobody wants to see a return to massive queues," she said.

'We need to make it easy for people'

Ruth Skelton said additional recycling facilities should also be introduced in the city

Ruth Skelton, leader of Derby Liberal Democrats, said: "I understand we are probably the only local council who has kept the full booking system [across the country] and not changed anything."

Ms Skelton, ward councillor for Blagreaves, said she is aware of residents going to Burton or Ashbourne, across the city boundary, because they do not require a booking slot.

She also proposed a hybrid booking system for Raynesway and called for additional recycling facilities in the city.

"For example, you can't put lightbulbs in the black bin; you have to take them to Raynesway," she said.

"I think we need to think a bit more out of the box and make it easy for people to do the right thing."

'Rubbish on the streets'

Alan Graves, from Derby Reform, said people could not get a slot when they needed it

Alan Graves, leader of Derby Reform party and ward councillor in Alvaston, said: "Since the booking system was installed, the amount of fly-tipping has increased so much it negates any savings they make on it.

"It is very, very clear people are not taking their rubbish to the tip because they can't get a booking for when they need to use it.

"Unfortunately, there are far too many fly-tipping events around the city.

"In Alvaston... people are leaving their rubbish on the streets. It has affected other parts of the city."

He also called for a hybrid system, with booking required on some days while, on others, people could "just turn up and dump their rubbish".

'We need to make waste disposal easier'

Helen Hitchcock said she would like to see people informed about their options

Helen Hitchcock, the coordinator for the Derby Greens, said: "We are standing in a couple of wards that seem to suffer a lot with fly-tipping.

"In Abbey ward, the neighbourhood board - which is made up of local councillors, neighbourhood officers and various local people - have invested in doing clear-out days because some people may not have the transport to take items to Raynesway.

"It's also not that expensive to contact the council if you have items that need picking up and I'm not sure how many people are aware of that.

"As long as people are able to access the booking system online, I think it's a good idea but we need to think about how we can make waste disposal easier for people within the city. We need to push the message about how people can dispose of things like old sofas and mattresses, so people are informed."

A full list of candidates can be found here.

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