More changes to Raynesway HWRC to improve access for local people

Published: 2 December 2020

In May this year, Raynesway HWRC reopened with a new booking system in place. The system was put in place so the site could operate safely, protecting staff and visitors from Covid-19. It also reduced queuing on nearby roads, preventing disruption to essential black bin collections. The system has worked well and been widely welcomed by both residents and businesses.

Learning from the experience, Derby City Council is proposing that booking visits through the MiPermit booking system becomes a permanent way to secure slots at the site. Additionally, in line with the Council’s licence requirements, bookings would only be available to Derby city and Derbyshire county households. This will improve the service for residents and reduce misuse of the site, reinforcing the position that the Raynesway HWRC is licensed for residents to dispose of waste from their own homes and is not for the disposal of business or trade waste.

A key change being proposed to prevent misuse is that each household in Derby and Derbyshire will only be able to book a maximum of 12 visits each year (like many other local authorities) via a free e-permit system. Access to the site will be monitored by using a barrier linked to an ANPR (automatic number plate recognition) system.

Since the site reopened, most residents have used the site sensibly and only booked and visited when they needed too. However, a minority have abused the booking system by making multiple bookings and bringing excessive amounts of waste or booking several visits and then not turning up. In one case, an individual booked 27 visits between mid-May and the end of September but only turned up for three of those bookings. This behaviour has meant that residents have been left frustrated when they have had to wait between booking and being able to visit the site.

Preventing excessive and illegitimate use of the site will also decrease costs by reducing the volume of waste that has to be disposed of and the number of staff needed on site to manage the current booking system. Costs that ultimately fall to Derby taxpayers. If approved, the changes could save approximately £150k.

Another key change will be stopping the site being used by people who do not live in Derby or Derbyshire. Currently, around 10% of visitors to the site are from outside these areas (such as Nottinghamshire and Staffordshire) and again, this reduces availability of the site to local residents and increases costs to local taxpayers.

It's hoped that improving access to local residents could reduce incidents of fly tipping in the city. The majority of fly tipping in the city is domestic waste such as household waste and furniture. Sadly, there are a small minority of residents in the city who will choose to risk being fined for fly tipping rather than using facilities available to them such as Raynesway HWRC or the Bulky Waste Collection service. The anticipation is that with more consistent access for residents, they’ll be encouraged to dispose of waste correctly.

Although the existing and proposed changes have seen a reduction in visitor capacity at Raynesway, we have mitigated this by increasing our kerbside Bulky Waste collection service capacity. This is often a more convenient option for residents.

Fly tipping is an issue that is not unique to Derby and as Keep Britain Tidy reported, areas across the country saw a rise in fly tipping during the first lockdown in March.

A spokesperson for Derby City Council commented:

“When the site reopened back in May, residents where overwhelmingly supportive of the new system and the benefits it bought as were local businesses that had historically been impacted by the excessive queues for the site. Since then, use of the site has been constantly in review. Whilst most residents are using the site properly, sadly, a small minority are abusing the site leading to the proposal of these additional changes.

As the name suggests, Raynesway Household Waste Recycling Centre is for residents to dispose of household waste and we have a duty to make sure the site is compliant with their license. We offer efficient and competitive trade waste collections that businesses should be using.

Alongside this, Derby City Council declared a climate emergency in 2019. We’ve been actively encouraging our residents to reduce their waste, reuse and recycle items instead of disposing of them.

Whilst lots of the items bought to Raynesway HWRC are recycled, there are some that could have been repaired or given a new home. I’d encourage residents to look at other options such as selling or donating items in good condition before bringing them to Raynesway HWRC.”

Further information about Raynesway HWRC and ways residents can reduce, reuse and recycle items is available on the Council website.

Waste