Northamptonshire County Council is cracking down on the unauthorised disposal of commercial waste at its household waste recycling centres.
The authority will introduce an e-permit scheme which will limit the amount of times people can use commercial-type vehicles to bring their household waste to the centres in a year, free of charge.
Household waste recycling centres (HWRC) are only licensed to accept domestic waste and unlawful trade disposal at the sites costs the council and the residents of Northamptonshire.
The scheme is currently in development but the aim is to introduce it in October with people able to register online. This would allow people six free visits in a commercial vehicle a year, provided they are depositing household waste from their own home.
Cllr Ian Morris, county council cabinet member for transport, highways and environment, said: “This is a simple way of making sure that we can manage the use of our household waste recycling centres to make sure that it is only domestic waste which is disposed of.
“Not only does the unauthorised disposal of trade waste at the sites bring additional cost to the council but it can bring additional strain on the service and contribute to increased congestion at the sites.
“Many other waste disposal authorities nationally have already introduced similar schemes, with great success, so it makes sense that we do likewise.”
Small-scale traders currently have four designated sites across the county where they can dispose of their commercial waste legally:
- Kettering
- Ecton Lane
- Sixfields
- Rushden
It is estimated that introducing the e-permit system would bring the county council savings of about £200,000 annually.