A councillor has pleaded with a government minister to scrap the county’s controversial charges for taking household waste to community recycling centres.

Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Highways and Environment at Surrey County Council Stephen Cooksey has also called for the council to reimburse residents the “over-zealous charges”.

The council introduced new charges at its nine recycling centres – including those at Blenheim Road, Epsom and Randalls Road, Leatherhead – charging residents £5 to recycle a tyre or £4 to recycle a waste bag, following a consultation.

From August: Residents launch petition urging Surrey County Council to scrap recycling charges amidst fly-tipping fears

From August: Council fear introduction of recycling charges counter-intuitive to Surrey-wide fly-tipping crackdown

Concerned residents launched a petition calling for the council to abolish the proposed charges.

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Corrugated panels dumped at the side of the road in Epsom. Pic credit: Epsom and Ewell Borough Council

At the time, the council said the charges would save £1.8m a year as it looked to offset the rising cost of adult social care in the county.

Surrey County Council’s cabinet member for environment and planning, Councillor Mike Goodman, said this rising demand for services was costing the council £24m each year.

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In August, Cllr Goodman, said: “People can still get rid of one bag of DIY waste a day for free but with rising demand for services making money ever tighter - adult social care alone is adding £24 million each year – this particular change will save £1.8m annually while keeping all Surrey’s recycling centres open and affecting only those doing more significant construction work.”

A spokesman confirmed that the council’s position had not changed since the introduction of the charges on September 1.

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But Cllr Cooksey (pictured above) believes the Department of Communities & Local Government (DCLG) to intervene, and that Local Government Minister Marcus Jones should scrap the fees.

He said: “I do believe that these charges are over-zealous and that it is sensible for the Minister to intervene to stop this practice rather than to expect residents to seek legal solutions.

“That is why I am taking this matter to the highest level.

"On the evidence that I have seen I am of the opinion that the charges imposed by Surrey County Council for disposal of DIY waste are illegal and that the Conservatives should axe the their tip tax and reimburse residents immediately.

“I call upon Marcus Jones, Minister for Local Government, to intervene in this case and scrap these unfair charges."

A DCLG spokesman said: “We’re determined to boost recycling and that’s why we’ve changed the law to stop councils charging residents for household waste when taken to a recycling site.

“The government has been clear that DIY waste from residents is classified as household waste and so should be disposed of without a charge.”

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