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13
Oct
Recycling centre restrictions set to be introduced to save £405,000
North Yorkshire Council’s executive looks set to approve restrictions to the county’s household waste recycling centres.
The Stray Ferret revealed in August that changes were in the pipeline in a bid to save £405,000.
The move, which would require people to register to use the service and also cap the number of visits for commercial vehicles, is expected to be ratified by the Conservative-led council’s ruling executive next week.
The authority operates 20 recycling depots, including two in Harrogate and one each in Ripon and Pateley Bridge, which last year handled 64,500 tonnes of waste and recorded 1.6 million visits.
But the council said one in six users are not North Yorkshire residents and people from outside the county were using the service for free to avoid charges in their areas.
Should the changes be approved, residents will have to register to use the service.
They would provide their name, address and vehicle registration number to the council prior to visiting a household waste recycling centre. This would allow the authority to check whether the car is registered in North Yorkshire upon arrival.
Visits for residents would remain free of charge.
12 visits a year
Commercial vehicle users will be limited to 12 free visits per year.
Those who use the centres more than this will be required to pay a commercial charge or be directed to the nearest disposal facility, according to a council report.
Cllr Richard Foster, the authority’s executive member for managing our environment, today (October 13) said:
The aim of the review was to identify savings to help achieve a balanced budget and to deliver efficient and effective services.
We believe that the proposals strike a balance between keeping the service free and easy to use for residents, while making significant savings.
We have found that most neighbouring local authorities restrict access for non-residents and set limits on commercial-like vehicles.
The experience of these councils, along with independent research, does not result in increased fly-tipping, although we will continue to monitor the levels.
A 12-week consultation on the restrictions was carried out last year.
It received 3,000 responses, 69% of which were in favour of limiting access to household recycling centres to North Yorkshire residents, while 61% of respondents supported restricting commercial vehicles to 12 visits per year.
Under the current provisions, commercial vehicle users are required to pre-register before visiting North Yorkshire recycling centres but can then use the service as often as they like.
But the council said this meant is was "likely to be accepting commercial waste free of charge, for which it has no obligation to do so”.
The number of visits to the county’s recycling centres is estimated to fall by 36,000 should commercial vehicle users' visits be capped, and the council estimates the changes will save up to £405,000 each year.
Executive councillors will consider the changes on Tuesday, October 21.
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