As many as 12 tips in Hampshire could close in a bid to save the county council £1.6 million per year.

Hampshire County Council’s plan will also impact opening times and change the types of waste accepted at the household waste recycling centres (HWRC).

The council has presented their proposal as part of the saving plan to meet the forecasted £132 million budget shortfall by April 2025, with all departments asked to reduce costs and provide the legal minimum of services required by law.

As part of the proposals, the county council has detailed its plan, which includes the future closure of 12 household waste recycling centres (HWRCs) which would save up to £1.6 million a year.

The county council has targeted Alresford, Bishops Waltham, Fair Oak, Hartley Wintney, and Hayling Island as the smallest sites which are the poorest performing and most expensive to run. 

The closure of these five would save around £500,000 per year.

Closures could also happen in the Aldershot, Bordon, Casbrook, Hedge End, Marchwood, Petersfield, and Somerley sites.

The council said that with the closure of the 12 sites, “a larger proportion of Hampshire households would be affected”, but it would save up to £1.6 million.

It said that closing certain sites may mean jobs there being axed by Veolia, which manages the tips on behalf of the council.

Another way to save money on waste management would be by reducing the opening hours of tips, which the council estimates could save £1.2 million.

But this will require a reduction in opening times of around 57 per cent, which is equivalent to around three days per week across the network.

Other suggestions include limiting the disposal of expensive waste types, such as soil and rubble, to a few designated sites, and removing waste containers for rarely deposited waste types to free up space.

Additionally, some waste management sites could become “recycling only” by restricting the deposit of non-recyclable materials such as household waste.

The county council is also exploring the idea of new fees, such as a premium booking slot, which would provide access outside of the standard operating hours.

They are also considering selling gloves or sacks on site.

If given the green light, they could be brought in from summer 2025.

The Hampshire network of tips is the largest in England, with 24 sites of different sizes, accessibility and levels of efficiency, costing more than £10 million a year to operate.

In 2022 to 2023, Hampshire residents made 2.1 million bookings to deposit almost 120,000 tonnes of household waste across the network.

Residents can have their say on the plans until March 31.