PEOPLE are recycling less at Salisbury’s tip since the opening hours were slashed.

The volume of waste collected at the site on Churchfields industrial estate has dropped by a fifth since the cost-cutting changes were introduced.

The figures, obtained by the Journal under the Freedom of Information Act, revealed that Salisbury’s recycling centre had seen the biggest slump in usage of all Wiltshire’s dumps since the cuts.

Meanwhile, the number of fly-tipping incidents recorded in Wiltshire this summer has risen by almost a quarter (24 per cent) compared to the same period last year.

But this is nothing to do with the reduced hours of recycling centres, the chairman of a waste task group has said.

Councillor Jose Green told the council’s Environment Select Committee at County Hall on Tuesday: “We went through the findings of fly-tipping to determine if it was a result of closure times. We are not convinced that it is and some of the tips and size of them point towards commercial waste. It is all about education.”

The reduced opening hours, which came into force last year to help the council save money, have been creating large tailbacks that have been affecting residents and businesses, especially at Churchfields industrial estate in Salisbury and Amesbury, with queues of up to 65 cars being recorded.

During the discussions on Tuesday, councillors heard how household waste remained the biggest single material found fly-tipped, but that the sizes of these fly-tips indicated they were of a commercial nature and dumped by somebody offering a waste disposal service.

Many councillors pushed for a circulation of an updated list of rules and regulations which include the fact that householders can be prosecuted for fly-tipping if their rubbish is dumped incorrectly.

A report prepared for councillors showed ‘green waste’ fly tipping had risen by 50 per cent since the council started charging for green bin collections in June 2015 (from 10 per cent to 15 per cent).

Almost two thirds (64 per cent) of fly-tips in 2015/16 were van loads of rubbish, while a fifth were car-boot size. One in seven were single items.

The council is exploring the possibility of redeveloping the dump at Churchfields.