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New restrictions on vehicles using Aviemore recycling centre come into force


By Gavin Musgrove

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Highland Council has introduced vehicle restrictions at household waste recycling centres from today including Granish by Aviemore.

Vehicles that are no longer permitted entry to the recycling centres with any waste are:

• trailers with more than one axle or greater than 2.4 metres (8 feet) in length;

• vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of 3.5 tonnes or greater;

• tippers and flat-bed trucks of any weight; and

• plant vehicles.

The new restrictions on vehicles that can use Granish tip have come into effect today.
The new restrictions on vehicles that can use Granish tip have come into effect today.

Councillor Allan Henderson, chairman of the council's communities and place committee, said: “In Highland we manage 22 per cent more waste per person than the Scottish average and HWRC have experienced a 50 per cent increase in waste in the last decade, costing up to £2.4 million in handling and treatment costs which brings costs the council can no longer afford."

“As reported by Audit Scotland, between 2013/14 and 2018/19 Highland Council’s core revenue funding reduced by 9.8 per cent.

The council expects the move to save around £300,000 over the next two years.

Councillor Henderson said: “The new restrictions are necessary in helping the council provide efficient and cost-effective services that contribute towards environmental sustainability and the development of a more circular economy.

“Larger trailers and commercial type vehicles have been included in the restrictions due to the large volume of material that they can carry and congestion that can create at the sites.

"In addition, these vehicles are often associated with trade abuse of council facilities. Restricting access will help to reduce the overall amount of material that is handled at HWRC."

He added: “We understand there are concerns that the changes will result in increased fly tipping, however, this is an issue across the UK and tends to arise from rogue traders rather than law abiding citizens.

"We currently have systems in place to capture instances of fly tipping and will continue to monitor this and take enforcement action when necessary.”

Alternative methods for managing household waste include using the council’s chargeable bulky uplift service.

To coincide with the changes at the recycling centres, the range of items available for collection has now been expanded to include bathroom and sanitary ware; kitchen cabinets; car tyres and/or rims; bicycles; window frames and doors (without glass), gates, lawnmowers and garden tools.

The charge for this service is £22.69 for one to three items and £45.37 for four to six items.

To report fly tipping visit www.highland.gov.uk/report or phone 01349 886603.


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