A new scheme to prevent residents from neighbouring counties pitching up at Cambridgeshire’s recycling centres has been launched.
In a bid to monitor our county's nine recycling centres, an E-permit scheme has been introduced and it is completely free of charge.
Approved by local councillors in May, the scheme will allow the council to ensure only Cambridgeshire residents can use the facilities with a van or trailer.
Although, look out for the small print as the permit only allows 12 visits per year and there is an exemption for trailers up to 5ft in length and 570 litre capacity.
Mathew Shuter, Cambridgeshire County Council's chair of highways and infrastructure committee, says the application for a permit is easy and staff is on hand to help.
He said: "We want to prevent unlawful trade waste being disposed of at our HRCs, which is ultimately at a cost to the council tax paying residents of Cambridgeshire.
"Residents can still take their household waste to one of our sites in a van or trailer - but they'll just now need one of the free e-permits to do so."
The news comes after it was revealed that one in three users of centre in Wisbech surveyed last year were from outside of Cambridgeshire.
Between 2012/13 and 2016/17, the waste collected at all household recycling centres in Cambridgeshire rose by 20 per cent.
That's compared with growth in kerbside collections of just four per cent over the same period.
Clearly a fan, Cllr Jan French defended the imposition of the permit scheme which launched, officially, on Wednesday, October 2.
On social media, the councillor said the new E-permits were there to "stop the abuse of commercial waste".
She said: "It cost about £350,000 per year to keep the sites open. Cambridgeshire County Council officers wanted to close all but two. We fought to stop that and won."
Centre staff - employed by Amey - have adopted a 'meet and greet' policy to explain the new changes and to embed it into the daily workings of each site.
The sites, in March, Wisbech, Whittlesey, Witchford, St Neots, Thriplow, Milton, Bluntisham and Alconbury, are operated by Amey as part of the long-term waste contract.
Permits must be obtained before visiting any of the sites, to claim yours visit the council website on: www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/hrc-permits
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