THE booking-only system at Newport's Household Waste and Recycling Centre (HWRC) continues to divide opinion among the public, a poll of Argus readers shows.

We asked people what they thought about the appointment system - brought in as a safety measure during the early months of the pandemic - and whether they thought it should continue.

It comes after research showed Newport had more reports of fly-tipping last year than any other Welsh council area, and that the city's illegal waste-dumping problem had nearly doubled compared with 12 months earlier - also the biggest rise in Wales.

At the time, the Welsh Government said “restricted access to household waste recycling centres” was partly behind the rise.

But Newport City Council has rejected this, claiming the rise in fly-tipping is because the local authority has made it easier to report incidents.

A council cabinet member said there was "no evidence" linking the booking-only system at the HWRC in Docks Way to an increase in fly-tipping, and argued that requiring appointments at the tip had helped improve recycling in the city.

Our readers on Facebook and Twitter offered a snapshot of public opinion on the matter, with around two-thirds of respondents saying they were in favour of the booking-only system and hoped it would continue.

They included Elaine Godsall, who said: "It has always worked well for me and the booking system is easy to use. In and out in minutes rather than queueing for ages."

Mark Roche said the booking scheme was "an efficient system and has stopped all the cars waiting on the dual carriageway to get in".

Twitter user ChelseaKeith said: "Visits are quicker [and] no dangerous queues on the SDR".

However, he was one of several readers who supported the booking system but wanted it to be updated.

He added: "The booking system needs improving - not intuitive to new users, buttons are misleading, doesn't work well on different devices."

Ieuan Davies made a similar point, arguing that the "booking system needs improving so [people] can book on the same day".

Other people were less supportive of the booking system continuing.

Adrian Payne said: "I work all week and come weekend can't always get an appointment."

Leighton Dobbs added: "I have to make a 16-mile round trip and I would prefer to do it on the day when I have a job in that area, then I go online to try and book and it's not available until the next day, so [it's] no good to me at all - just inconvenient."

And Twitter user Ermfar Tanarik said: "My parents are unable to use the booking system and used to use the tip regularly. Now they feel that it is a service they pay for but which has been taken away from them because of their lack of IT skills."