FLY-TIPPING in North Yorkshire may temporarily increase if new fees are introduced at the region’s recycling centres, council bosses have admitted.

North Yorkshire County Council – which has to cut £77 million from its budget between 2015 and 2019 – is proposing to allow contractors which run its waste sites to charge for disposing of soil, rubble and plasterboard from April, saying this would save the authority up to £330,000 a year.

The council’s executive has been recommended to approve this when it meets next week, provided it reaches an agreement with the operators involved.

If it does not, arrangements will be made which would mean residents no longer being able to dispose some or all of these materials at North Yorkshire recycling sites.

In a report, Ian Fielding, the authority’s assistant director of waste and countryside services, said options in a consultation on the issue included introducing charges for soil and rubble at some larger centres, with other sites not accepting this waste.

There were 1,126 responses to the consultation, with 83 per cent saying centres should still take these materials and 56 per cent agreeing that a charge should be levied at all sites.

“While opinion is not strongly in favour of charging for soil and rubble, people want household waste recycling centres to accept this material and, if charges are to be introduced, would prefer this to be put in place across all centres,” it said.

“The key points raised are that some people believe any restriction or charge will lead to increased flytipping, this will in turn reduce savings or increase costs, and soil or rubble will be placed in waste bins.”

Mr Fielding’s report said Harrogate Borough Council, on behalf of district councils in the York and North Yorkshire Waste Partnership, and 11 parish and town councils had also raised the fly-tipping issue.

It said: “Feedback from other authorities who have implemented charges for similar waste suggests that while there might be a slight increase after the initial introduction of charging, this will decline over time, having a minimal impact on projected savings.”

It said if recycling centres no longer accept soil and rubble, contractors may seek compensation from the council for any costs incurred in enforcing this, but operators had indicated support for charges being introduced.