DENBIGHSHIRE County Council is reminding residents of changes to its recycling and waste parks.

From April 1, the three main sites in Denbigh, Ruthin and Rhyl will be managed by social enterprise Bryson Recycling, as part of a joint contract with Conwy County Borough Council.

The new contract will increase recycling rates, introduce more reuse activities and implement a local circular economy approach to recycling.

It will also see earlier opening times, improved access, a wider range of items accepted at the Ruthin and Denbigh sites and free compost, while Denbighshire residents will be able to use two Conwy recycling and waste parks at Abergele and Mochdre.

As part of the changes, a small charge will apply from April 1 for residents choosing to bring in non-household waste, such as DIY and construction waste from works or improvements.

This waste is classified as industrial waste, not household waste, and Council Tax only covers the cost of collecting, recycling and disposing of household waste.

Cllr Brian Jones, Denbighshire's lead member for waste, transport and the environment, said: “Working together with Conwy County Borough Council to appoint a single operator has enabled us to provide value for money for our residents, as management costs have reduced while increasing the amount of waste we recycle.

“The new contract also includes more green initiatives, such as availability of free compost to site users and a new ‘Choose to Reuse’ area at each site for customers to help themselves to useful materials that other people have brought, a charity run re-use shop at the Rhyl site and more support of reuse projects within our communities.

“Bryson is also pledging £1 for every tonne of waste recycled to be donated to St Kentigern Hospice.

“Under the new contract there will be no charge for household waste created in the day-to-day running of households.

“The council is not required to accept DIY and construction materials for disposal, even though that waste comes from a domestic property.

"However, we understand residents do sometimes create this type of waste themselves and we can handle this waste at our sites with a small charge, to cover the costs of handling and disposal."

Cllr Jones added: “The charges are not designed to make a profit and have been kept as low as possible for everyone.

“This change has been introduced to enable us to reduce the overall cost of providing the service to help the council to manage a balanced budget and continue to support our priority services for the people of Denbighshire.

“Introducing a small charge also helps eliminate the temptation for businesses to deposit waste illegally at our sites.

"Despite strict controls in place to prevent this, we know some waste from commercial activity makes its way onto our sites by those masquerading as householders.”

Charges will apply only to DIY and construction materials such as rubble, plasterboard, asbestos, gas bottle, tyres and insulation material.

Gareth Walsh, general manager at Bryson Recycling, said: “We are delighted to win this contract and have an opportunity to bring our social enterprise approach to the management of the three Denbighshire sites.

"We will focus on maximising recycling and reuse at the sites, while making a visit to the recycling centre an easy and pleasant experience.”