SURREY County Council’s controversial recycling centre charges have come under fresh scrutiny, after the government’s new ‘litter strategy’ included a call for councils to stop charging people for the disposal of DIY household waste.

Last September, Surrey introduced new charges - dubbed the ‘Tory tip tax’ by opposition councillors - for disposing ‘non-household’ waste at recycling centres across the county, ranging from £4 for a 50cm x 77cm bag of building waste such as bricks, rubble and plasterboard to £5 per tyre or £50 for a car load of ‘loose materials’.

But the new Litter Strategy document for England, published on Monday this week by the Department for Communities and Local Government, clearly states: “Government’s view is clear: DIY waste is classed as household waste if it results from work a householder would normally carry out.”

Responding, a county council spokesman said: “We brought in charging for some construction waste in line with the law, as have many other councils, because of the severe financial pressure we’re facing from rising demand for services and falling government funding and we will carefully study the new national guidance when it’s issued.

“We launched a concerted drive last year to tackle fly-tipping – which was already a problem – and the amount of fly-tipped rubbish collected by Surrey’s councils has fallen by 1,000 tonnes over the past year.”

In comparison, neighbouring West Sussex County Council announced this week it is suspending recycling centre charges in light of the government’s announcement, while Hampshire County Council recently opened up household waste recycling centres to small and medium-sized enterprises for the first time.