Residents must register to use county tips

Those registered can use nine council-run tips in the county

Derbyshire County Council says people must register their vehicles to continue using its tips.

Automatic number plate recognition technology (ANPR) will be used to check people are eligible to use council-run recycling centres, the authority said.

The council added unregistered vehicles would not be turned away initially but people will be reminded to sign up ahead of their next visit.

Carolyn Renwick, cabinet member for environment, said: "Our neighbouring counties have introduced similar schemes and with this change each area will be dealing with and paying for its own waste and recycling."

The council said it had seen a 32% increase in the amount of waste collected at its sites since 2017.

It said this equated to an extra 85,000 tonnes a year, costing it an extra £700,000 to £800,000 in annual recycling and disposal costs.

Each resident living in Derbyshire over the age of 17 can register up to two vehicles to use all nine recycling centres in the county without charge.

Councillor Carolyn Renwick said the the authority was following the lead of neighbouring councils

The authority said it wanted people to register as soon as possible to "avoid any issues in the future".

Residents registering a van to dispose of their household waste will be required to register each time they wish to visit and access will last 24 hours, the council added.

It said this was to help "deter traders from using the service for free at the expense of local council tax-payers".

Traders wishing to dispose of trade waste can pay to do so with unlimited visits at sites in Ashbourne and Stonegravels.

Ms Renwick said: "This registration scheme will make things fairer and more cost effective for Derbyshire residents.

"It’s all part of our efforts to strike the right balance between continuing to provide a good quality service for residents and making the necessary savings."

A council spokesperson said 5,000 registrations had been completed since the scheme went live on Monday and asked people to be patient if they found its website was running slowly due to the high demand.