North Yorkshire recycling centres to close early

In a key decision to be made by the authority at the next meeting of the Executive, a report will be put to the authority which recommends several changes to Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs), around the county.

According to the report, the option of retaining current opening hours was considered and rejected as "this option gives no savings", so centres will close two hours earlier between April 1 and September 30 each year, at 5pm instead of 7pm. Between March and October each year, the centres will now close at 4pm instead of 5pm.

An alternative option was closing at 6pm between April 1 and September 30, one hour earlier than the current closing time, but this option was also rejected.

The report said: "This option reduces the savings by approximately £30,000 per annum but evidence shows that the use of HWRCs drops off significantly after 5pm during the summer."

Charges will now be enforced for leaving tyres at NYCC-run recycling centres, including Harrogate, Malton and Norton, Leyburn, Leeming Bar, Northallerton, Selby and Tadcaster, saving the council thousands of pounds each year.

The report said: "Tyres are not household waste and accepting them at all at HWRCs is a discretionary service costing approximately £15,000 per annum."

Residents from outside of North Yorkshire will now be charged for leaving waste at NYCC-run centres, starting with Stokesley, where the authority said "a significant proportion of users are from outside the county".

The report said: "In the absence of suitable reciprocal agreements with neighbouring authorities, the costs of receiving and disposing of waste delivered to Stokesley HWRC by residents of neighbouring authorities is recovered from those residents through a charge.

"Neighbouring authorities are increasingly restricting the use of their sites to their residents. Instead, North Yorkshire will allow residents of other areas into our sites but will seek to recover the costs of doing so."