HWRC Community News - January, 2025

Introduction:
In this section, we’ll share the latest news from the bookinglab HWRC community.
The goal here is to inform you of any product updates or community-led initiatives and help you connect with councils tackling common challenges.
Here are the top four highlights from January:
- We unveiled our latest cost-effective solution for HWRC management, available for just £4,999.
- We're excited to welcome the first Scottish council to our ever-growing HWRC community.
- Essex County Council successfully launched its new HWRC Booking System.
- Kent County Council's HWRC Account functionality for is almost ready for launch.
Introducing our new form-based HWRC Booking System.
We’re thrilled to share our latest innovation in household waste recycling centre management: a cost-focused, streamlined version of our award-nominated HWRC Booking System, available at just £4,999 per year.
Designed using insights from over 100 HWRC managers.
After gathering feedback from our HWRC community, we’ve created a form-based solution to address the daily challenges you face. This streamlined system focuses on core functionality, helping you manage bookings efficiently and stay in control of operations.
Save over 25% compared to competing solutions.
By focusing on the features that deliver real value, we can now offer a subscription plan at just £4,999 per year. Compared to competing solutions, that's a 25% cost saving over a standard G-Cloud contract.
Our goal with this product is to make advanced waste management solutions more accessible for councils operating under strict financial constraints.
Built on our market-leading tech stack.
Don’t let the lower price point fool you—this new form-based product leverages our award-nominated technology to deliver reliability, speed, and security. Built on the same robust framework trusted by two-thirds of the UK’s largest county councils, we made it our top priority to address the common robustness, usability, and security pitfalls that often plague other form-based products.
Reduce costs and increase site efficiency.
This product is designed to empower your team with the tools they need to enhance site efficiency, reduce costs, and elevate the user experience for both citizens and staff—all while staying within budget.
Ready to learn more?
Click here to see how our form-based HWRC Booking System can transform your council’s recycling centre operations.
Our community is expanding.
We are delighted to welcome the first Scottish council to our ever-growing HWRC community!
Over the coming weeks, we’ll collaborate with the council to implement our market-leading HWRC Booking Service across four regional sites, transforming how waste services are managed and experienced.
We’re excited to see this project take shape—stay tuned for more detailed updates as it progresses!
Essex County Council successfully launched its HWRC Booking System.
Essex County Council has successfully rolled out our market-leading HWRC Booking Service to 22 sites across the county, transforming Household Waste Recycling Centre management and delivering a smoother, more efficient experience for residents.
In the first two weeks alone, Essex has averaged over 4,500 bookings a day, with feedback from both residents and site staff overwhelmingly positive.
Congratulations to everyone at ECC, and a big shoutout to the bookinglab product team for an outstanding job—fantastic work all around!
Functionality update: Kent County Council's HWRC Accounts.
As part of Kent's commitment to continuous service improvement, they gather user feedback through bi-annual consultation surveys. These surveys let residents rate their experiences and suggest ways to enhance the service.
The latest survey data revealed a strong demand from residents for MyAccount functionality. To address this, we've worked with the Kent team to develop a HWRC registration workflow and MyAccount features that will enable:
- Residents to avoid re-entering their data for each booking
- Easier management of permits and vehicle vouchers
- More efficient handling of usage limits and address lookups
- Registration of multiple addresses/vehicles to manage waste disposal for dependents
- Improved visibility on waste origins
For residents who prefer not to create an account, the 'continue as a guest' option ensures the service remains accessible.
We’re excited to share that this functionality is now almost ready for deployment, with the first release scheduled for February.
Note:
Your input is key to ensuring our HWRC booking system continues to evolve with your needs. If you have ideas for our next development cycle, we’d love to hear them! Feel free to share your suggestions at info@bookinglab.co.uk.