Introduction
Surrey County Council (SCC) operates 14 Community Recycling Centres (CRCs) across the county.
Like many authorities, they were facing increasing pressure to manage congestion, improve operational efficiency, reduce costs, and gain clearer visibility of who was using their sites.
After speaking with peer Waste Disposal Authorities already benefitting from booking systems, SCC decided to run a focused trial of bookinglab’s HWRC booking platform at two sites, including one of their busiest: Camberley CRC.
The goal was simple: to understand whether a booking system could ease operational pressure, improve insight and control, and deliver a smoother experience for residents.
Trial Objectives
SCC set out to answer four practical questions:
- Would residents accept and use a booking system?
- Could the council better understand and manage authorised cross-border use?
- Would bookings help restrict unauthorised out-of-county visits?
- Could the system ease congestion and queueing at the busiest locations?
These objectives shaped how the trial was designed and evaluated.
The Solution
bookinglab configured a system designed specifically around the trial’s objectives.
The setup included:
Eligibility Checks
Vehicle and postcode lookups enabled SCC to identify Surrey residents, authorised neighbouring-authority visitors, and unauthorised out-of-county users with accuracy and consistency.
A Simple Booking Experience
Residents could book online in a few quick steps. For those who preferred or required support, bookings could also be made by phone through the contact centre module.
Reporting and Insights
Detailed reporting gave SCC a clear view of visit patterns, resident origins, booking behaviour, and overall demand across both trial sites.
Despite a tight timeframe, these features, alongside a range of additional market-leading functionality, were deployed quickly and integrated smoothly into day-to-day operations.
Resident Adoption and Behaviour
Resident uptake of the new system was strong from the outset, and improved over the course of the trial.
During the final four weeks of the trial, 87% of visitors arrived with a booking. Only a small number chose not to participate.
Phone bookings accounted for roughly 1% of total bookings, showing that most residents were comfortable booking online. Contact centre teams also fed back that the system was intuitive, making assisted bookings easy to handle.
Taken together, this showed that residents were both willing and able to move to a booking model, with minimal additional pressure on SCC’s contact centre.
Resident Feedback
Survey responses over the three-month trial provided a clear indication of how residents experienced the system:
- 76% found the system easy to use
- 90% secured a slot on the day they wanted
- 86% secured a slot at the time they wanted
- 43% felt queuing had improved
- 78% said the 15-minute slot length worked well
Operational Impact
The trial gave SCC far better visibility of who was using each site. The eligibility checks enabled the council to:
- Understand authorised cross-border usage
- Identify and restrict unauthorised out-of-county visits
- Monitor demand patterns by day and time
- Assess pressure at Camberley CRC with reliable data
This insight helped SCC evaluate how bookings could support their broader network and where the approach would be most effective.
What The Trial Showed
Taken together, the adoption data, operational insights, and resident feedback painted a clear picture. The trial demonstrated that:
- A booking system would be well supported at Surrey’s busier, more congested sites
- Engagement would be strong from the outset, with most residents comfortable booking
- Opposition would remain low, particularly when the benefits around queueing and predictability are understood
The trial also showed that SCC could expect tangible operational gains, including:
- Reduced congestion and more controlled visitor flows at peak times
- A significant reduction in unauthorised out-of-county use
- Stronger management information to support planning and decision-making
- A smoother, more consistent user experience for residents and staff alike
Although the trial ran for only three months, the evidence was clear and consistent. SCC gained confidence that a booking system could work effectively across its network.
Why bookinglab?
Alan Horton, Programme Manager at Surrey County Council, stated:
We chose bookinglab for the trial following recommendations from peer authorities. bookinglab got the trial up and running in a very challenging timeframe and were always on hand to address queries and advise on all aspects of the trial, drawing on vast experience. The team are extremely helpful and professional, and we have very much enjoyed working with them throughout the trial.
Conclusion
The Surrey trial was designed to be practical and evidence-driven. Over three months, it showed that residents would engage with a booking system, staff could manage it easily, and SCC could gain clearer control over site usage and congestion.
The findings suggest that bookings would be well-suited to Surrey’s busier CRCs, helping reduce queueing, manage demand more effectively, and maintain a positive experience for residents.
