Changes to recycling centre access in Hertfordshire agreed by Cabinet

The new policy will be subject to a ‘grace-period’ of several weeks before active enforcement, to ensure that as many centre users as possible are made aware of the change and to allow for discussions with neighbouring authorities, the majority of which, have had similar policies in place for many years.

During their meeting, Hertfordshire’s Cabinet heard that the costs of service provision were rapidly increasing and the proportion of non-Hertfordshire residents using sites in the county was in excess of 20% (net) and rising. 

Simon Aries, Director of Transport, Waste and Environment, Hertfordshire County Council said:

 “The decision taken is the start of the process, and we will now take steps as resources allow to implement this policy across our recycling centres.

“Like many other council-run services, our recycling centres are experiencing additional costs and it is only prudent that we look at all possible forms of mitigation for Hertfordshire taxpayers who are currently paying for waste arising outside of Hertfordshire. We anticipate that once the changes have bedded-in, restricting non-resident access will mean less traffic through our centres leading to an improved experience for our residents.

“Resident only policies are commonplace across the region and country, with many of our nearest neighbours having had this policy in place for some time. We will now invite all neighbouring councils to dialogue on the potential reciprocal use of centres across borders.”