TORY and Labour councillors want the "much-hated" booking system at Fife's recycling centres to be dumped.

It was introduced during the pandemic to control how many people were accessing the tips but there have been repeated calls for it to be scrapped.

A decision will be taken at the meeting of Fife Council's environment and protective services sub-committee next Thursday (September 2).

Conservative group leader, Councillor Dave Dempsey, said there was "widespread demand from the public" for an "end to the much-hated booking system".

He added: “We can appreciate it was a measure introduced to combat COVID but it’s no longer needed or indeed wanted.

"The council rightly wants the public to recycle; the public themselves want to recycle and we should be making it as easy as possible.

“Once the booking system has gone, we will urge Fife Council to reconsider other despised restrictions, such as types of trailer and bans on pedestrians.

"The idea that, during a climate emergency, someone living near a recycling centre should have to drive there is daft unless there’s a very strong safety aspect."

However, committee convener Cllr Ross Vettraino said Cllr Dempsey was "out of touch with the real situation" and questioned how many people were walking or cycling to the tip to get rid of rubbish.

He said: "He doesn’t seem to realise that the sub-committee, at its meeting on July 15, called for open access to the recycling centres to be restored for the deposit of non-commercial waste, as soon as it is safe to do so.

"He also seems to be unaware that it was not the council, but Fife Resource Solutions, which manages the centres on behalf of the council, that introduced the booking system to meet its statutory duty to protect the health and safety of its staff and the public."

He added that the booking system had also helped stop the illegal disposal of commercial waste at the centres, which was costing the council £1.5 million a year.

Cllr Vettraino continued: "Unlike Cllr Dempsey, the council’s officers are not waiting until the future of the booking system has been determined before reviewing access by pedestrians and vans and trailers and I am anticipating that the report to the sub-committee will address those issues.

"That said, any recyclable material which can be carried by a pedestrian or a cyclist can be disposed of at any of the 300 or so recycling points throughout Fife and any landfill waste which is small enough to be carried by a pedestrian or a cyclist can be put in the domestic (blue) landfill bin, thereby eliminating any need to drive to a centre with something that can be carried.

"Looking at some of the things that can be done to enable open access while making the centres safer for staff and the public, I foresee the need for an element of capital expenditure and I am confident that the administration will continue to invest in the facilities and tailor solutions to address local circumstances."

Co-leader of the council, Cllr David Ross, said: "The Labour group has always taken the view that the booking system should be removed once it is safe to do so, and we believe that point has now come."

He added: “It is still important to ensure the safety of our staff, and as far as possible we need to prevent the problems of overcrowding and abuse that were occurring at these centres on occasions before the pandemic.

“Our recycling centres are there to serve the public and now that COVID restrictions are lifting, we need to ensure they are as easy to use as possible.”