FURY has erupted over the introduction of a charge to tip DIY and garden waste at county recycling centres.

From June 1, people taking things like glass, plasterboard and turf will be charged £3.50 a bag if they have not applied for a permit.

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Even with a licence, residents will be limited to just 10 bags, measuring 60cm by 90cm, each year of ‘inert’ waste, which is described as bathroom furniture and ceramics, flag stones, hardcore, roof tiles, rubble, sand, soil, and concrete.

Objectors say they fear a huge increase in fly-tipping incidents and have questioned why people should have to pay to dump their waste correctly.

There are also concerns people will put extra pressure on Blackburn with Darwen’s facilities to avoid paying.

However the county council has said it is having to introduce the charges because of government cuts.

Blackburn with Darwen Council’s environment boss, Cllr Jim Smith, said the move was an exercise in futility and said any savings could be wiped out by the cost of an increase in flytipping.

He is also concerned some people may travel to use the borough’s tip to avoid the charge.

He said: “The environmental department and I have decided not to charge people because it creates more flytipping.

“It would be the last thing we would do.

“Like the county council we are going through massive cuts and, if visitors numbers at our two recycling centres went up because of this, we would put a system in place which reads registration plates.”

Oswaldtwistle Conservative county councillor Peter Britcliffe said: “I think it is an absolutely dreadful decision.

“We are suffering in Lancashire from a surfeit of fly-tipping and this will lead to more and more.

“The cost of removing the rubbish will cost authorities more in the long run.

“From an ecological point of view it is a dreadful decision. It is an appalling move and a retrograde step.”

Graham Jones, Labour candidate for Hyndburn and Haslingden, said: “Any barriers to waste disposal run the risk of increased flytipping.

“What people will do is find the nearest convenient place and just dump it.

“That’s what happens, and we have hot spots where people think they can get away with it.”

The issue of local authorities introducing a ‘tip tax’ has become a growing phenomenon, with several councils across the country introducing charges to dispose of waste.

However, the move was recently condemned by local communities minister Eric Pickles, who acted to make charges to dispose of rubbish usually put in a dustbin illegal.

However the new law does not cover the type of waste the county council would charge for.

The county council’s public protection and waste boss, Cllr Janice Hanson, said: “Our [centres] are primarily for people to recycle and dispose of normal household waste free of charge, which is a statutory duty for all waste disposal authorities.

“However, our current service also allows unlimited free disposal of wastes which include rubble, soil, and plasterboard, amongst others, which isn’t a statutory duty.

“This is proving very difficult for the council to deal with, and unfortunately something we can’t continue to do in the present financial climate.

“Many other councils already charge for or place limits on this type of waste.”

The council said it hopes enough people will pay the new charges to help reduce the £750,000 annual cost of dealing with inert waste.

It also said it needs to save £315m by April 2018 in the face of ‘unprecedented’ government funding cuts while the demand and costs of services continue to rise.