Householders with vans could be given access to West Lothian's recycling centres
The head of Operational Services said he was prepared to consider 'tweaks' to rules which have so far barred those who drive vans or towing trailers to the five recycling centres.
But he stressed that trade waste remained banned from the sites and must go to commercial sites.
The council's Governance and Risk Committee heard that the perception of fly-tipping was that it was growing, and one councillor said she believed it was.
Pauline Orr the SNP member for Linlithgow said: 'The public perception out there is still very much that fly tipping is on the increase. It's certainly something I'm aware of as I travel from Linlithgow to Livingston, there's an increase on the back roads.'
David Maule, Head of Operational Services, which includes waste services acknowledged fly-tipping was 'certainly still an issue', but he stressed that fly-tipping largely was of commercial nature and featured large amounts of waste.
He added: 'There is a public perception that it is a growing problem. From a council land point of view statistics don't show that it's increasing. What we are most concerned about is the types of material found fly tipped.
'The majority of fly-tipping is of a commercial nature. We are very concerned when we see materials like asbestos at the side of the road or in fields.
'We work very hard to trace fly-tippers. When we find evidence we will take them to Fixed Penalty Notice or to prosecution.'
Councillor Orr added: 'I've also had a number of complaints about the inability of commercial operators and of people who may just changed their bathroom or kitchen themselves but cannot get access to council recycling centres [in vans or with trailers]. If we could make space available there would be less that gets dumped.'
Mr Maule replied: 'The first point to make is around commercial waste. There are lots of commercial operations that will deal with commercial waste. In terms of households there are five sites operating and there is a booking system. You may not get your first preference, but you will get a booking.
'We are happy to look at any tweaks we can make, particularly looking at households who have vans or trailers to give them a bit more opportunity to use the sites.'
That was welcomed by Councillor Orr and committee chair Councillor Damian Doran-Timson
Councillor Orr said 'Just so we are clear. Commercial vehicles should not be coming to CRC sites even in unmarked vans. Where is that they need to off load their rubbish?'
Mr Maule agreed and replied: 'There are any number of private waste disposal companies that operate up and down the land.'
A full list of what can and cannot be disposed of at CRC sites in available of the council's website.
By Stuart Sommerville, Local Democracy Reporter
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