Recycling centres: Falkirk Council claims it is committed to solving 'teething issues'

The decision to make the changes at Kinneil Kerse, near Grangemouth, and Roughmute, near Bonnybridge, was taken by councillors at the end of last year and came into force on Monday, April 3.

The cost cutting exercise means both centres now open from 10am and users now have to book a time to visit in advance. The council stated the introduction of

the booking system will mean safer and quicker visits for local people and fewer, and shorter, queues.

Over the first few days there were problems with queues and the online set up, with words like “shambolic” and “chaos” being used – especially at Roughmute.

One user, referring to Roughmute, stated: “I’ve never seen it as bad – it’s shocking. I’ve been waiting 30 minutes already and I’m not even in the gate yet. Shambolic.”

People have also been having trouble accessing the website to book their slot.

One stated: “This is the first week of the new Falkirk Council appointment system and what a shambles it is. We had a slot for 10am this morning and it seems so does

everyone in Falkirk Council.

"This is supposed to make things easy and seamless for both staff and customers. We were at least an hour at Roughmute, it’s chaos there, just like it was during the pandemic.”

High demand and residents not actually booking a slot, or turning up too early, were blamed for the queues.

A Falkirk Council spokesperson said: “The council acknowledges that with any new system, teething issues can arise during the early days of operations and is

committed to resolving and rectifying the initial issues experienced and will continue good communications with residents.

“Over the course of the Easter weekend over 2500 residents made bookings to access our recycling centres, with the newly introduced permit system being

operational.

"To adjust to the new system, the council did not turn away any residents who did not have a booking, or those residents who turned up in advance of their booking slot – with some visitors turning up as much as two-and-a-half hours early.

“Unfortunately these factors, coupled with residents perhaps not appreciating that the booking system provides a half hour window to arrive at site – for example arrival can be at any time between 10 and 10.30am or 1pm and1.30pm.

"Residents arriving before the site opening resulted in a queue. This, however, was managed through the deployment of additional staff ensuring a smooth processing of traffic.

“As the booking system has settled, bookings are working well, with repeat bookings being made.”

Roughmute is now open 10am to 6pm from Thursday to Monday and closed Tuesday and Wednesday, while Kinneil is open 10am to 6pm from Saturday to Wednesday and closed Thursday and Friday.

Falkirk district residents can reserve a slot to visit the sites through My Falkirk website using their vehicle registration number. Those with limited access to the Internet

can book by calling 01324 506070.

Users will be asked to confirm the type of waste they are bringing and will require ID to get into the recycling centre.