North Ayrshire recycling centre booking system approved

A proposal to implement a digital household waste recycling centre (HWRC) booking system at all sites had been approved by cabinet on October 1.

But Tory councillors Ronnie Stalker, Stewart Ferguson and Todd Ferguson called in the proposal, claiming it did not include a consultation or public engagement period.

They also argued that the move was not required, as the sites were not busy and did not need a booking system.

And they warned it could also lead to an increase in fly-tipping as many people would not use the new system and dump rubbish in public areas instead.

Labour councillors Nairn McDonald, Charles Currie and leader Joe Cullinane also argued the current system was fine and feared the move could increase fly-tipping. 

The council operates three sites on the mainland (Irvine, Kilbirnie and Largs) and one on the Isle of Arran in Brodick.

The Kilbirnie recycling centre (Image: Newsquest) Cllr Stalker said: “The current system is not broken so why fix it? I do not see discernible benefits to changing it, there are risks with this in terms of our waste performance. It is just going to encourage fly-tipping.”

Cllr Cullinane added: “Our waste service is better than South and East Ayrshire. If you have a booking system and there is not a problem you could end up with problems.

"I use the recycling centre in Irvine quite often and very rarely do I meet a queue at Bartonholm. Our current system works and is not broken.”

Tony Gurney, cabinet member for green environment and the economy, said: “As the committee will be well aware this project emulates several other schemes including those of our neighbouring authorities.

"Residents see less queues, there is better customer experience and guaranteed entry with no delay. We are third in Scotland for recycling performance and that has not happened by keeping things the same but innovating to ensure we improve our performance. 

“People are currently resorting to fly tipping if they can’t get in. Today we have a lot of scare stories which have no evidence whatsoever.

“We don’t want people making a long journey tuning up and not being able to get in.

“Guaranteed access is important to people who have a long and difficult journey, especially those from Arran.”

In other areas it had been reported that 95 per cent of people were satisfied with the service and 97 per cent happy with the availability of the slots given.

Cllr Gurney added: "I hope I have allayed fears and proposals are evidence-based and meant to improve our recycling performance."

Thomas Reaney, head of neighbourhood services, said large queues at Bartonholm put a lot of pressure on staff and CCTV footage had shown 186 cars between 10am and 5pm on Sunday, October 13.

He also claimed Largs was a “dangerous” site and people were having to queue down to Haylie Brae, which made traffic management difficult.

Mr Reaney said it was important to listen to staff and the unions were 100 per cent behind the planned system. He feared there was a risk of violence and aggression towards staff under the current system and said people currently tried to skip the queue.

Cllrs Inglis and Mclean proposed referring the matter back to the council's cabinet.

But the committee agreed to an amendment from Councillor Eleanor Collier to go ahead with the scheme, which was also supported by Labour councillors John Bell and Donald Reid.