New rules on taking sofas to tips slammed by Devon County Council

A council has criticised new rules which mean sofas, armchairs and some other furniture will not be accepted at many tips.

New Environment Agency (EA) regulations demand upholstered furniture is stored and transported separately from other non-recyclable waste - even when it is all burned in the same incinerator.

Devon County Council said the rules meant 11 out of Devon's 19 recycling centres would no longer be able to accept upholstered furniture due to a lack of space and the changes would cost about £110,000 every year.

The EA said it was important to keep upholstered furniture separate due to the presence of toxic chemicals in the form of persistent organic pollutants (POPs).

Roger Croad, cabinet member for waste and recycling at Devon County Council, said the regulations were "nonsense".

He said: "We're going to see a bit of chaos I think.

"I'm at a complete loss as to the Environment Agency's rationale here."

Mr Croad said out of 19 recycling centres across Devon only eight would be able to accept upholstered furniture from December.

He said there was simply not enough space to add new storage areas.

The EA regulations were introduced from January 2023 but authorities were given until 1 December 2024 to comply.

An EA spokesperson said: "Separation of waste containing POPs minimises contamination with other waste and makes these toxic chemicals easier to trace in the environment."

The spokesperson said "most" local authorities had already introduced segregation of materials and it expected Devon County Council to do the same.