Van and trailer users face new waste restrictions at Lancaster's Salt Ayre and Carnforth recycling centres

Lancashire County Council’s cabinet will discuss the potential changes when it meets tomorrow (February 8).

It is recommended to approve a proposed limit of three 25kg bags per visit of ‘inert’ waste for anyone using a van or trailer.

‘Inert’ waste includes soil, rubble and general DIY waste including plaster and plasterboard.

The county council has 16 Household Waste Recycling Centres including at Salt Ayre, Lancaster and Scotland Road, Carnforth.

The ‘inert’ waste policy that existed before the pandemic limited all residents to 250kg of inert waste per year.

This was paused during the pandemic and hasn’t since been reinstated.

Under the new proposals, restrictions would only apply for van and trailer users.

All car drivers would still be able to use the household waste recycling centre as often as they want without weight limits.

Only householders are allowed to use the county’s Household Waste Recycling Centres and commercial waste is not accepted.

County council environment boss Coun Shaun Turner said: “It’s important for all of our councillors to look at formalising a permanent policy, as the previous one was temporary and came into effect during the pandemic.

“When you go on holiday, a large suitcase weighs around 25kg, so three of those is the weight that van or trailers drivers could take in ‘inert’ waste such as soil or rubble on each visit.

“For members of the public there would not be much difference to the rules.

“The access policy aims to reduce congestion, improve safety for facility users and reduce the potential for the illegal deposit of commercial waste.”

The amount of ‘inert’ waste being received since the previous limit was suspended during the pandemic has almost doubled, with the additional disposal costs now reaching almost £400,000 per year.

Residents using the ‘inert’ waste facility are also being urged to separate their waste types before visiting in order to ensure that all recyclable materials can be processed correctly.