Hampshire County Council did not back a proposal from the opposition Liberal Democrat group to reinstate the option of booking visits to household waste recycling centres by telephone for residents who do not use the internet.
The councillors behind the motion argued that the current online-only booking system denies access to people without an internet connection or sufficient digital skills. They stressed that the council should ensure its services are accessible to all residents of the county.
According to the council, between May 2024 and April 2025 more than 28,000 telephone bookings were made for visits to Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs). Around half of callers provided an email address for booking confirmation, which, according to deputy council leader Kirsty North, indicates that they have access to digital channels. She also noted that scrapping the phone line has saved the council around £67,000 a year, but officers are already exploring the option of introducing a “modern AI phone system” as a cheaper alternative.
Councillor Malcolm Wade said he had been contacted by a resident who does not have a computer or internet access and had asked whether this was discriminatory towards him. According to Wade, a local charity is already helping older people with bookings, but this is not enough.
During the debate he emphasised that the county’s population is ageing and more and more people are struggling to use digital technology, while the cost of a telephone service would be relatively modest compared to the benefit for all sections of the community.
Council leader Nick Adams-King recalled that, as part of previous savings measures, the local authority had managed to avoid closing half of its waste recycling sites, so axing the phone line was one of a number of unavoidable economies. He pointed out that people who cannot book online can ask their councillors, relatives or carers for help, adding that he had repeatedly made bookings for constituents via the mobile app.
After the meeting, Malcolm Wade told local paper the Advertiser and Times that he was prepared to help residents personally, but thought it unrealistic to expect councillors to be constantly available to make bookings for everyone who needs them. In his view, residents need a dedicated phone line for booking visits and getting advice on waste management, and the council leadership’s current stance denies some taxpayers an appropriate level of service simply because they do not use IT.
In the end councillors voted against restoring the telephone service: 36 members voted against, 20 in favour, and a further six abstained.
Heather Rigby, 81, from Lymington, who used to visit her local HWRC regularly, told the paper she was disappointed by the result of the vote and now is effectively unable to use the recycling site, even though she pays council tax.