Hampshire Council to Scrap Telephone Bookings for Recycling Centres

From March next year, Hampshire residents wanting to book a slot at one of the county’s Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) will no longer be able to do so by phone, as Hampshire County Council moves to a fully digital system.

The council says the decision to scrap telephone bookings and payments was driven by concerns over the current system’s efficiency, speed, and cost. Instead, a new online booking and permit platform—developed by IT firm Pentagull under a four-year contract worth £200,000—will handle all future HWRC reservations.

Crucially, the new system will also replace paper permits for vans and trailers with digital versions. The council says the change will “improve customer experience” and increase “efficiency” and “reliability” across the board.

However, the move has already sparked concern about accessibility. The council’s own report concedes the change will negatively impact vulnerable groups, including the elderly, disabled, and residents in rural areas with limited internet access.

In response, the council says it will offer mitigations including:

• An accessible, user-friendly website
• Public access to computers at local libraries
• External support for users with special communication needs

The report states:

“Provision of telephone support for a digital permit system is not supported by the corporate digital first approach to communications and would incur significant cost to develop. As such, no telephone support for the digital permit system will be provided.”

Portsmouth and Southampton City Councils, which also make use of Hampshire’s HWRC service via a shared contract with waste contractor Veolia, are expected to contribute approximately 10% of the system’s cost.

The decision was signed off as part of the council’s 2025/26 Revenue Budget and Savings Report, approved in January this year. Hampshire currently operates 24 recycling centres across the county.

The shift to a digital-only model reflects a growing trend in local government services—prioritising cost-saving and efficiency, but raising fresh questions about digital exclusion in an increasingly online world.