"We estimate that it is costing Norfolk's tax payers more than £1million year to get rid of illegal business waste and residents should not have to foot this bill"
Ian Monson, Cabinet member for Environment and Waste, Norfolk County Council
Norwich: Norfolk County Council is clamping down on people who are knowingly trying to avoid the cost of disposing of their trade and commercial waste by bringing it to one of Norfolk's 19 recycling centres.
Waste that is illegitimately deposited at household recycling centres to the cost of the general public, is a national and multi-million pound problem. Trade waste in particular entering these sites as if it were household waste - which can be delivered free of charge - is a major problem.
Supported by officers from local Norfolk district councils, the County Council successfully cracked down on waste illegally entering recycling centres this summer. More than 160 suspected traders were approached, with half of these now being investigated further.
This joint effort by councils is part of a series of measures to deter traders from using the sites to dump their waste and save money at the expense of residents.
A typical household waste recycling centre in Norfolk
This work was aided by the fact that Norfolk's recycling centres now have a sophisticated system of CCTV and automatic number plate recognition to help identify rogue traders. The fines that could be imposed on guilty traders could be as high as £50,000 - a massive amount to a small business and which should be acting as a deterent.
Ian Monson, Cabinet member for Environment and Waste, Norfolk County Council, said:
"The County Council is sending out a strong message that our recycling centres are not a 'soft touch' for people trying to avoid paying for waste generated by their trade or business.
"We estimate that it is costing Norfolk's tax payers more than £1million year to get rid of illegal business waste and residents should not have to foot this bill."
Businesses illegally disposing of household waste could face fines of up to £50,000.
Dan Jacobs, Technician (Household Waste) Norfolk County Council, added:
"Norfolk's recycling centres now have a sophisticated system of CCTV and Automatic number plate recognition to help identify those that attempt to beat the system. These measures are designed to ensure that the legitimate site users are not inconvenienced. By eliminating unauthorised users, site staff have more time to help our genuine customers recycle their waste."
Further information
To find out options for recycling and disposing of business waste call 0844 800 8004 or visit www.norfolk.gov.uk/businesswaste .