Crackdown on businesses illegally dumping commercial waste at Devon's recycling centres
Devon County Council is stepping up measures by putting a new permit scheme in place
Last updated 15th Jan 2021
A new permit scheme to stop businesses illegally dumping commercial waste at Devon’s recycling centres will be introduced.
Devon County Council’s cabinet on Wednesday unanimously agreed to adopt the new scheme which will see permits only be issued to vans registered to individual residents and not to vehicles registered to companies/businesses.
The new van permit scheme will help to ensure that only Devon residents deposit their own household waste at the sites, councillors were told, with only privately-owned vehicles by residents in the Devon County Council administrative area would be eligible to be registered.
Once registered, 12 permits for a rolling calendar year will be issued, with each permit allowing one visit to a household waste recycling centre (HWRC) and can be used as needed across a 12-month period.
The permits will be free, Cllr Andrea Davis, cabinet member for waste, told the meeting, added: "We know the system is being abused as people are using household recycling centres for commercial waste."
How the scheme works
The HWRC Van Permit system will require Devon residents who have a privately registered panel van that they wish to use to access a HWRC to register with the county council.
The registration process will require users to provide copies of their Vehicle V5 Registration document and driving licence and only privately-owned vehicles by residents in the Devon County Council administrative area would be eligible to be registered.
Once registered 12 permits for a rolling calendar year will be issued. Each permit will allow 1 visit to a HWRC and can be used as needed across a 12-month period. The system will be based on ‘QR’ codes or similar with permits being scanned on access to each HWRC (either paper copies or via smart phones).
The IT system will then automatically deduct one of the 12 permits from the users’ annual account and there will be no charge for issuing the permits.
Vans registered to businesses/companies/organisations, vehicles registered to addresses outside of the Devon County Council administrative area and vehicles already restricted by existing DCC policy regarding type/size will not be eligible for a permit.
Cars, motorcycles, bicycles, pickups, campervans, motorhomes, people carriers, motability-type vehicles, vans accessing HWRCs as part of the pre-paid trade ticket system, and vans hired to a householder from a legitimate hire company for a hire period of less than three days and where appropriate documentation can be produced will be exempt from the permit scheme.
"The HWRC Van Permit system seeks to further limit the amount of commercial waste deposited at the County Council HWRC facilities by commercial firms, businesses and traders. If the status quo was maintained, then such use would continue at existing levels at public expense.
"The sites are provided free of charge for household waste deposited by residents only and commercial waste should be deposited at commercial waste sites with the appropriate charges paid for that commercial waste.
"Implementing the scheme will provide a system whereby Devon residents with privately registered vans can still access HWRCs albeit in a controlled manner. In addition, by further limiting the amount of vans at HWRC sites, facilities will be less congested and will be better placed and have more capacity to serve as many residents as possible."