New rules that remove charges for householders seeking to recycle their DIY waste at their local tip could well help to tackle the scourge of flytipping in the Cotswolds.

As of January 1st, new legislation from the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) means that households no longer have to pay to get rid of small-scale DIY waste at council recycling centres, with the move abolishing typical fees from local authorities of £10 per item – often with an additional limitation of two rubble sack-size bags of waste per visit.

The change seeks to create a nationally uniform policy: up until the change was made, restrictions could vary by recycling centre, although Gloucestershire sites have operated with the following guidance for householders: "We accept construction and demolition waste arising from work carried out by residents on their own property. We have separate containers on our sites for rubble, soil, wood and plasterboard."

All county sites now accepting DIY waste will limit visits to two 50L rubble bags.

A DEFRA spokesman said: "This change has the potential to save households hundreds of pounds, with charges that were up to £10 an item, such as a piece of plasterboard, now scrapped."

The Country Land and Business Association said it welcomed the change: "This is good news for those residents who use recycling centres where local authorities still charge, and also for farmers who end up bearing the brunt of illegal fly-tipped materials dumped on their land.

"There are one million incidents of fly-tipping reported every year, and it has a massive impact on the environment, wildlife, and crops as well as on the farmers who have to pay to clear it up."

Making recycling cheaper and easier was a step forward, the CLA said, but it urged more police action on dealing with criminal gangs making money by dumping waste.

"We should be making it as simple as possible for people to dispose of rubbish and unwanted items responsibly, so the removal of any cost barriers is welcome."

The change also follows a consultation launched last week by DEFRA to make it easier to recycle household electrical items, while simpler household collection rules were also announced in October.

They added: "The DIY waste changes came into force as of 31st December 2023 and follow overwhelming public support at consultation, with 93% of householders agreeing with the plans to amend legislation.

Recycling Minister Robbie Moore has indicated that removing fees is part of the wider aim to tackle waste crime and fly-tipping, which is estimated to cost the economy £924m per year in England. Among other measures, in 2023 the government announced grants totalling £775,000 to help councils roll out a range of projects to crack down on fly-tipping, with an additional £1m for grants being made available this year.

The government has also consulted on reforming the waste carrier, broker, dealer regime and on introducing mandatory digital waste tracking and is developing a fly-tipping toolkit with the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group to help spread best practice on tackling the issue among local authorities. The toolkit is being extended to raise awareness of waste duty of care among householders and businesses.

Elsewhere, the government says it has increased the maximum fines for fly-tipping, littering and graffiti, while concurrently ringfencing of the proceeds from those related fixed penalty notices so that fines can be reinvested back into enforcement and local clean-up activities.