New scheme offers live webcams to help customers beat the queue
March 12, 2010 at 2:18 pm
As the days gradually become longer and also are ultimately warmer, our thoughts tend to turn towards our neglected gardens. Trimming hedges, removing weeds and D.I.Y tree surgery all result in a lot of recyclable garden waste. What follows is an inevitable trip to the local recycling depot where unsurprisingly we discover everyone else has had the same idea.
Now a new scheme proposed by Buckinghamshire council intends to put an end to queues at recycling depots by beaming live pictures of recycling sites over the web thus helping customers to beat the queues. The aim is that when customers see the length of queues they will either wait for a quieter time or head for a different depot thus making the whole process more efficient.
The scheme which proposes to have webcams installed at all major recycling sites in Buckinghamshire has been met by a mixed reaction by the general public. Some people believe it is an excellent idea which they will take full advantage of, whilst others are bemoaning the council for wasting money, when cuts in other areas are both necessary and imminent.
Councillor for Waste, Martin Tate, believed the move showed that the council were beginning to really utilise the potential of their website and that it showed “real customer focus and commitment to improving things.” This was supported by Council leader, David Shakespeare, who said the scheme meant, "the public gets a real tangible benefit".
Whether customers choose to use the new webcams or whether they actually reduce queues is something which can only been seen over time, when the cameras are actually installed. However, should the scheme prove a success it will be interesting to see whether in the future we will all be logging on to our computers before heading out to our local recycling depot.
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