Angry readers have slammed Denbighshire County Council’s decision to introduce charges at their recycling centres.

The Local Democracy Service reported last week that the authority will be charging for certain household rubbish at recycling centres at Ruthin, Denbigh and Rhyl.

The charges follow contractor Bryson Recycling taking over the running of the three sites in April. Bryson already manages sites in Conwy.

The charges mostly relate to DIY-type waste, such as soil, rubble, plasterboard, wood and timber, asbestos, tyres and gas bottles. But Denbighshire is yet to reveal the list of exactly what will be charged for.

A spokesman for Denbighshire County Council said: “Bryson Recycling will take over the running of our recycling and waste parks in April 2022. The council and Bryson will communicate any changes to the service in advance of this time.

“There will continue to be no charge for waste classified as ‘household waste’ at our sites. Residents who were previously limited to the amount of construction and DIY waste they were able to bring to the sites will be able to pay to bring larger amounts of this waste for recycling rather than dispose of it through other means, such as skip hire or private operator. The new charging scheme will be introduced in April 2022 and will apply to a selection of DIY/construction type waste only.

“The new contract will also include a number of green initiatives, such as the availability of free compost to site users and support of reuse projects within our communities.”

One reader wrote: "Absolutely disgraceful. There will be more fly-tipping. How ridiculous is this? What do we pay council tax for?"

Another said: "Higher council tax but get less for it. This is greed again, and there is so much rubbish dumped as it is. You only have to look around the recycling depot between Abergele and Towyn where people have dumped stuff down Gors Road after finding they’d have to pay, so they take it home and dump it on the way. Fly-tipping is rife around there. So come on, councils. Get your act together. It’s what we pay you for."

Another angry reader typed: "It will probably cost the council a fortune to clear up fly-tipping when they bring in the charges."

Someone else wrote: "How to keep ripping Joe public off."

Another reader typed: "There’ll be more tipping and more burning. And it’ll be the council that will be doing the clearing eventually. They should be doing everything within their powers to encourage the public to drop things off at recycling centres for free. We don’t stand a chance of keeping this country tidy. I feel a sense of total despair when people of authority come up with these stupid plans."

Another questioned the motive of introducing the charges: "Disgusting and greedy. What do we actually pay our extortionate council tax for, as more and more services are charged for?"

One reader added: "Obviously the council tax will go up again this year as will the councillors salaries and expenses. The only thing that won’t go up will be the level of services."

But another reader sympathised with the council: "If people thought about their rubbish before fly-tipping in the first place, perhaps the council wouldn’t have to keep putting up charges."

Last week Cllr Paul Pennlington called the charges shocking.

“Personally, I think it is shocking they are going to charge residents to dispose of their recycling from their own homes,” he said.

“It is just another example of Denbighshire County Council becoming ever more corporate and adding costs onto residents that they shouldn’t have to pay because these things are covered by council tax already.”