Recycling centres in Ards and North Down go online in bid to stop people from other areas dumping their rubbish

Councillors at Ards and North Down Borough Council has agreed to introduce a new online booking system for access to its nine Household Recycling Centres, starting in September 4th.

This means that access to any of the centres across the Borough will only be possible via a pre-booked slot. Those without access to the internet can call a telephone line.

For years the council has faced the problem of residents from outside the borough using its household recycling centres as a dumping ground, with material that is often unsorted and heads straight to landfill as a result.

The extra cost of landfill incurred in 2021, compared to the average for other Northern Ireland Councils, was almost £716,000. Over that year Ards North Down received 11,360 tons more waste than the average intake for other NI Councils. The recycling rate averaged 59 percent compared to an average of 71 percent for other NI Councils.

In the coming weeks, the council will be carrying out a communications campaign to “ensure that the new access system is understood by residents across the borough.

The council said: “The booking system will provide a range of key benefits, including, protecting our HRCs for disposal of household waste by residents of the borough only, preventing abuse of sites for disposal of commercial waste and waste from outside the borough. It will also save our ratepayers significant amounts of money through reduced waste disposal costs.

“It will promote better onsite recycling participation, help avoid lengthy queuing outside sites, especially at traditionally peak periods, and smooth traffic flow through sites, meaning site users will find it easier to access containers for various waste streams.

“It will allow greater availability of site attendant assistance, providing guidance to site users on recycling etc, and will reduce inconvenience to users caused by turning up at sites outside opening hours or when site have to be temporarily closed for essential maintenance.

“It will also avoid users going to a site that cannot accept the particular waste types they want to dispose of.”

Deputy Mayor of Ards and North Down, Councillor Hannah Irwin said, “Our new HRC booking system will help manage the demand on the borough’s Household Recycling Centres. It will reduce queues, particularly during peak periods, drive down emissions from queuing vehicles and ensure a smoother, higher quality on-site experience for our residents.

“Managing better access to sites in this way will help reduce traffic pollution, help us achieve our environmental objectives and increase recycling rates as we strive to achieve a recycling rate of 70 percent by 2030, and significantly reduce the cost of the waste disposal burden borne by our ratepayers as we prevent use of our facilities for commercial and out of borough waste.

“We have reviewed similar systems in place at councils across the UK and have learned from their arrangements. We hope that residents will find it effective and that it will improve their experience in relation to using our HRCs.”