A WASTE boss is launching a new scheme aimed at slashing the amount of illegal flytipping in Burnley.

The initiative comes amid claims that new rubbish disposal charges are forcing traders to dump their waste in the back yards of empty properties.

Lancashire County Council waste chiefs were called to an emergency meeting by Burnley Council's environment scrutiny committee to discuss the issue yesterday.

It is thought that traders are trying to avoid being charged to dispose of their rubbish at the council tip. Now Shane Harrison, manager at the Deerplay Landfill site in Burnley, has reduced the minimal disposal tonnage from three tons to a ton in a bid to attract builders to dump their waste legally.

He said: "In the past small companies in Burnley have just been off-loading their rubbish in back yards because they couldn't afford to dump their rubbish legally.

"I am hoping this new scheme will help dramatically reduce the amount of flytipping in Burnley."

The new scheme means traders will be able to pay £20 to dump a ton of rubbish instead of £75 for a minimum of three tons.

A spokesman for Burnley Council said: "We have an interest in reducing flytipping and anything that helps to reduce flytipping will be welcomed as long as it is legal."

County Councillor Brian Johnson, executive member for urban and rural regeneration joined Neil Greenhalgh, the county's head of waste management, on a tour of the town's fly-tipping hotspots to see the problems being caused by the new charging policy, introduced at waste disposal sites around the county in July.

Areas such as Trinity, Burnley Wood and Daneshouse, which have many empty properties, have been targeted by the dumpers.

Earlier this year Burnley firefighters complained that the controversial charges had fuelled a rise in fires across the borough.

A spokesman for the county council said: "Each year, trade waste dumped at our household waste recycling centres costs the taxpayer £1 million.

"The permit scheme was launched across the county following a 12-month trial at three sites on the Fylde.

"During this test there was no discernible increase in the amount of fly-tipping."