CHARGES will be introduced for residents to dump waste at recycling centres in Hampshire.

The county council will bring in charges for soil, rubble, plasterboard and asbestos on October 1.

It comes after 20 recycling centres across the county, including Casbrook Common, were saved from closure earlier this year after a public outcry.

However the centres will now close on Thursdays and open at 11am every day as part of £1.55 million savings.

Earlier this year, the former Mayor of Romsey, Dorothy Baverstock, wrote a letter to Hampshire County Council begging them not to close the Bunny Lane site.

It was part of a three-month consultation in which thousands of people said they didn’t want to see the sites close.

Now residents wanting to dump soil and rubble at the county’s centres will be charged £2.50 per part or item, or for a whole 30-litre bag.

There will also be a charge of £10 for sheets for plasterboard or £6 per 30-litre bag, while cement-bonded asbestos will be charged at £12 per sheet.

Cash and card payment options will be available at each centre.

Hampshire County Council’s Eexecutive Mmember for Eenvironment and Ttransport, Cllr Councillor Rob Humby, pictured, said: “Managing Hampshire’s waste costs all the councils in the county around £100 million each year, and, coupled with ongoing reductions in Government funding, we needed to look carefully at how we deal with and pay for waste.

“This type of DIY and construction waste is particularly expensive to dispose of, costing Hampshire’s council taxpayers around £1 million each year.

“This new charge is being introduced from October 1 to cover the additional costs of disposing of DIY and construction waste compared to household waste, which we believe is the fairest way for as many as possible, and which residents told us they support.

"Many authorities elsewhere in the UK already charge for this type of waste to cover their cost of its disposal, and Hampshire will now be doing the same.

“If you are due to start a large renovation project, I would suggest looking at the cost of hiring a skip versus multiple trips to your local HWRC with items that you will be charged for.

“However, I would stress that these charges apply to the specified waste types only and no householder will be expected to pay for normal household waste, green garden waste or recyclable materials such as scrap metal or glass.”

Soil and rubble includes construction and demolition materials such as stone, rubble, clay, concrete, bricks, blocks, sand, tiles, paving slabs, and ceramic bathroom suites.

There will be no charge for crockery or clay/terracotta flower pots and the limit of six bags of soil and rubble per household per month will be lifted.