New online booking system for the tip for residents and permit holders

Dudley Council bosses reopened the Household Waste Recycling Centre (tip) in Stourbridge on Monday 11th May for residents who had pre-booked their slot by phone.

The service has proved incredibly popular with slots filling up quickly, and staff at Dudley Council Plus taking a high volume of calls over the past few weeks. A new, online booking service which can be accessed via the council website is set to be available to residents from today.

Residents can reserve a slot, subject to demand, and this now includes residents with vans, trailers and pickups who already have a permit. The number of visits per hour is being limited to allow people to use the site safely. Households and existing permit holders will be limited to one visit per week (subject to availability) to maximise the number of residents that can benefit from the site being open. Anyone turning up without a prior appointment will be turned away without exception.

Permit holders should take their permit with them and hold it up against a closed window for inspection. Hired vans should take their hired agreements with them and also hold these up against a closed window for inspection.

Rules allow for just one person per vehicle unless two people are needed to unload. No children or pets are allowed. Strict social distancing measures are in place to help keep staff and visitors safe.

Due to social distancing, no assistance for unloading can be provided, and users are asked to sort their waste before arrival. The re-use shop remains closed and parking will be limited to one side.

Councillor Karen Shakespeare, cabinet member for environmental, highways and street services, said:

We know that residents and permit holders really value the council tip service and we worked hard to re-open it as soon as possible for our residents in a way that is safe both for them and our staff.

“Although the booking system is a different way of working we have seen almost 10,000 of our residents visit since we re-opened it on 11 May and many have found it easier with a pre-booked slot.

We’ve tried to streamline things and make the process as safe and simple as we can, which is why we can now make the tip accessible again to permit holders with vans, trailers and pick-ups.

In order to keep people safe we do need to keep strict social distancing measures in place for the time being which is why we are only taking prior bookings. Please do not turn up to the site without booking first as you’ll be disappointed and will be turned way

If you’ve booked a slot and no longer need it, please let us know as someone else might be waiting for a slot.

We do anticipate that people may have to queue when they get to the site so I would ask people to please bear with us and respect others including our site staff.

People can book appointments online from today (Friday 5 June) or call Dudley Council Plus on 0300 555 2345 if they have a query relating to their booking. If all slots are taken, no more bookings can be made until the following Monday when more slots will be released.

Standard bulky waste collections for items such as sofas or garden waste can still be booked by calling Dudley Council Plus on 0300 555 2345.

For items such as mattresses and carpets, people can call Textek, a company working in partnership with the council to offer discounted rate collections. They can be contacted on 01948 840251.

Permits are available to borough residents and are issued free of charge.

Information including the latest advice, council services and available support throughout the coronavirus outbreak is online at www.dudley.gov.uk/coronavirus