No increase in Dorset flytipping since changes brought in at dumps

Dorset Council altered policies at household recycling centres a year ago

Author: Faye Tryhorn & Trevor Bevins - Local Democracy ReporterPublished 3rd Apr 2023

Changes to the types of vehicles allowed to use Dorset household recycling centres has seen no measurable increase in fly tipping.

But there have been complaints to the Council about the policy to restrict certain vehicles from using the sites.

The policy has now been in place for a year with the aim of cutting down on commercial use at the tips, with some needing a permit to attend for the first time.

The permits for larger vehicles like vans or pick-ups allow for six or twelve visits per year, with cars able to use the sites as often as they like.

The policy to restrict lager vehicles from using HRCs in Dorset was brought in a year ago

Portfolio holder for the service, Cllr Laura Beddow, said that after an initial spike in complaints when the changes were brought in, the numbers had declined and most users now appeared to be content with the new arrangements.

She told the place and resources scrutiny committee that although there had been fears that the change in policy would result in more fly tipping there was no evidence to suggest that this had happened.

She said the changes had been made to focus on household users, rather than commercial traders who have other means of disposing of the waste their operations generate.

Despite some complaints about changes to access to Dorset's dumps, there's been no increase in flytipping

Group manager Jason Jones told the meeting that the use of the household recycling centre was intended for only small quantities of household materials:

“We are not here to take huge quantities of waste from people re-doing their homes or landscaping their gardens. We would expect them to make alternative arrangements. I know people don’t like to hear that but we have to be reasonable to everybody…it’s about trying to get a balance.”

When the changes were introduced in 2022, Dorset Council was told that it was the first change in household recycling centre access for eleven years.

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