A village rubbish tip could be open longer in a bid to deal with the county's waste.

Waste bosses have revealed an urgent need for another civic amenity site in north Essex.

The part-time recycling area on Riverside Avenue West, Lawford, could be opened longer.

Essex County Council contracts superintendent, Mick Lawrence, said the full-time dump and recycling centre in Shrub End Road, Colchester, coped with more rubbish than any of the other 21 sites in the county. "It may not be the biggest site, but it's definitely the busiest," he said.

In the year to March 2001, the civic amenity centre took in 15,272 tonnes of waste and recycled 7,860 tonnes.

Mr Lawrence said: "We live in such a throw-away society that the amount of things people are dumping is incredible. We could really do with another area like Shrub End in the town."

A spokesman for Essex County Council waste services confirmed expansion of the Lawford site was on the cards.

The small civic amenity site is currently open on Saturday mornings only. A planning application will be lodged with the council shortly, the spokesman added.

Published Tuesday, March 19, 2002