Want to get rid of your rubbish in Poole? Now it’s going to cost you

Borough of Poole last year spent more than £55,000 disposing of asbestos, plasterboard, gas canisters, tyres, soil and rubble, including DIY waste.

Charging, which started on November 17, includes £1.50 for a bag of soil and rubble, £2.50 for a bag of plasterboard and £6 for a bag of asbestos.

It costs £6 to dispose of a small gas canister, £11 for a medium canister and £35 for large canisters. In addition, the disposal of car or motorbike tyres costs £5 each.

A charge can only be made for material classed as non-household waste.

Disposal of other household waste and recycling at the centre on Nuffield Road will remain free of charge to local residents.

Due to changes in landfill tax, the cost of disposal of soil and rubble alone is set to increase from £5,000 to £35,000 a year.

The principle of charging was approved by cabinet in July, and comes as the council seeks to close a £12.6million funding gap in its budget up to 2018. Prices were set by the head of the service and are subject to change.

Cllr Xena Dion, cabinet portfolio holder for the environment, Borough of Poole, said: “The council, and therefore our council taxpayers, incur a significant cost as a result of people disposing of non-household materials at our waste and recycling centre.

“However, the size of the financial challenge faced by the council unfortunately means we have no option but to introduce a reasonable charge for this service.

“Several other local authorities already charge for non-household materials at waste and recycling sites and we will only look to introduce charges that reflect other local options for disposal.”