Quantities of construction and demolition waste accepted at the region’s 21 recycling centres will be restricted to small amounts generated through minor DIY activities only.

Waste such as rubble, plasterboard, timber, old kitchen units and bathroom suites was previously accepted despite the council having no statutory duty to do so.

To coincide with the change, which comes into force on November 1, the council’s bulky uplift service will be expanded to include small amounts of DIY material.

The Highland Council manages 22% more waste per person than the Scottish average which equates to an additional 24,000 tonnes of waste a year, costing up to £2.4 million in handling and treatment costs.

The changes are expected to save the council £0.3m over two years.

Under the changes trailers over 2.4 metres, vans over 3.5 tonnes, tippers and trucks will not be permitted to any Highland Council recycling centre with any waste. Householders will be allowed to bring small quantities of construction and demolition waste but this will be restricted to what can be transported in the boot of a car and householders will be limited to one visit one visit per day with this material. These restrictions will not apply to normal household waste such as furniture, white goods and garden waste.

Chair of the environmental, development and infrastructure committee, Cllr Allan Henderson, said: “These new measures will help to ensure that the commercial and trade waste producers are not taking advantage of the services we offer members of the public at our network of recycling centres. Householders undertaking small-scale home improvements will still be able to take small quantities of waste materials to our Recycling Centres but we are asking everyone to step up and take more responsibility for their own waste.  It is not a statutory function for the council to undertake and we are not in a position to subsidise the cost, especially when it comes to construction and demolition waste.

“If anyone is using a commercial company or a tradesman to carry out DIY jobs for them, they need to make sure that arrangements are in place for materials to be disposed of correctly.”