Somerset Waste Partnership’s Board voted on Friday (March 25th) in favour of introducing reduced opening times and charges at Highbridge’s Isleport Recycling Centre.
The decision means that from 4th April, opening hours will be cut from 56 in winter and 70 in summer to 40 hours year-round.
The centre will also shut for two days a week – on Tuesdays and Wednesdays – in a bid to save costs.
It will be open from 8am-7pm on Mondays, 8am-4pm on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. It will also open on Sundays from 8am-1pm.
The centre will also make charges for residents bringing in gas bottles, tyres, soil and rubble.
These will range from £6-£35 for various sizes of gas bottles; £3.30-£4.20 for car tyres and £45.60 for ‘general commercial’ tyres; and £2.90-£116 for soil or rubble.
Burnham MP Tessa Munt told Burnham-On-Sea.com last week that she believes the changes will encourage fly-tipping, as first reported here.
Cutting the opening hours and introducing new charges will save the county council £1.9m over two years across Somerset.