Residents in the south of the island have stated their discontent over new limitations on the amount of waste they can dispose of at the Southern Civic Amenity Site.

Users of the site can now deposit 100kg of waste per month rather than per week - a decrease of 75% of the previously permitted weekly amount.

A local resident, who asked to remain anonymous, told the Isle of Man Examiner that the decision to reduce the amount of waste is ‘appalling’, and that residents had not been made aware of the change before it was put in place.

In a local community social media group, one resident said: ‘If they are reducing the service by 75%, I expect a 75% reduction in the portion of my rates that go towards it.’

In a statement released by the Southern Civic Amenity Site on Monday (April 22), it said: ‘We are aware of disquiet amongst some about our fair use policy at the site. ‘This fair use policy, which we have always had, was amended earlier this year from its previous policy of “six small bags” per week, which effectively permitted users of the site to deposit around 100kg of waste per week. ‘To put this into context, the average weight of waste from a domestic wheelie bin is 25kg, and permitting 100kg a week equates to 5.2 tonnes per year. This is the equivalent of a 40 cubic yard container from the site going to the Energy from Waste plant at a current cost of around £700.’

The site also claimed that it is ‘not unreasonable’ to have this policy in place. The statement continued: ‘The revised fair use policy is now six small bags per month which is monitored by staff on the site.

‘All amenity sites in the island have a fair use policy and it is not unreasonable to have such a policy in place. Large scale DIY jobs and house clearances have always been outside of the acceptable use of the site.’

The site also came under scrutiny at the end of last year with the closure of its reuse/reclaim area in order to prioritise its commercial waste service.

Charges at the site also increased on April 1, with higher waste disposal charges and transportation costs being blamed for the rise.

Talking about the closure of the reuse centre, a spokesperson from the site said: ‘The Board has been working on alternative arrangements which would see the site being able to accept reusable items on behalf of a local charity which would in turn benefit a whole array of charitable causes within the south of the island.

‘If this develops as the Board hopes, this arrangement will see the charity making monetary donations to worthy organisations in the south covering a whole range of age groups and activities.’