A Stansted Mountfitchet parish leader has said county councils are playing "tit for tat" over non-resident bans at tips in Hertfordshire.
Hertfordshire County Council’s cabinet has agreed to bar people who live outside of the county from local authority recycling centres.
This means Essex residents will be unable to use the Bishop’s Stortford recycling centre, which lies immediately south of the A120 Essex border.
The decision, which cabinet members agreed at a meeting on Monday, March 20, is in line with policies in neighbouring authorities such as Enfield, Harrow and Essex.
Herts decision-makers agreed they would be open to cost-neutral "potential reciprocal arrangements" with other councils.
Maureen Caton, chair of Stansted Mountfitchet Parish Council in Essex, said residents will have to travel up to half an hour further away to get rid of their rubbish in Saffron Walden or Harlow – rather than "just around the corner" in Hertfordshire.
She said: "This decision means people in places like Stansted will mean we have to travel much further to recycle their waste at a time when we are all trying to use the car less.
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"I think it is a bit of tit for tat. County councils have to get around the table because people are very concerned they will have to travel more, rather than use their local facilities."
The previous council contractor Amey, which was in place between 2014 and 2020, was losing £1.4million each year in the "latter years" of the contract.
More non-residents are thought to be using the Bishop’s Stortford recycling centre than residents.
Cllr Eric Buckmaster, Herts County Council's portfolio holder for the environment, said: "A residents-only policy is conservatively estimated to produce an annual saving approaching £450,000.
"The proposed approach would be to introduce a communications plan and advance warning signage.
"Temporary additional staff at the sites of highest non-resident usage will be asking for proof of address, and will be able to use a simple postcode council checker.
“Staff will be trained to be sensitive and to avoid conflict.
"In these locations there is also the potential to improve the customer experience through the benefit of reduced queuing."
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