RESIDENTS will be charged for recycling certain items from the start of next month.

From September 1, Dorset’s household recycling centres will charge for the disposal of certain items.

There will be a charge for disposing of asbestos, gas bottles, hardcore and rubble, soil, plasterboard and rubble.

The Dorset Waste Partnership said that some kinds of waste are very expensive to deal with and the council has no legal obligation to dispose of materials that do not come from the day-to-day running of a regular household.

Residents will be charged £1.50 for a bag of rubble and £35 for a gas canister weighing more than 20kg. 

Charges are being introduced to help DWP continue to provide current services with the money raised going toward the cost of processing these items and helping to make savings for council tax payers in Dorset.

With the exception of asbestos, which will need to be pre-booked before arrival, there will no longer be a limit on how much of these materials can be brought onto site, within reason, although the waste strictly cannot come from commercial activity.

The DWP is also asking people to not put the materials in their rubbish or recycling bin at home, as this will contaminate what is collected.

Councillor Tony Alford, chairman of the DWP Joint Committee, said: “When considering the introduction of these charges, the DWP focused on materials that cost a lot of money to process but are not dropped off by most residents on a regular basis. Rather than remove the facility to accept these items entirely, we are providing a compromise that will maintain convenience for the public but also save money for our partner councils.

“Funds raised from these charges will allow us to process those materials without passing the cost on to the taxpayer. We will also be keeping a close eye on reports of fly-tipping, although we do not anticipate any long term changes as a result of these charges being introduced.”

Further details on the charges (including prices) can be found by clicking here.