Greenwich residents will now need to prove where they live before they are allowed to use the local recycling centre for free.

From September 1, it's all change at the Nathan Way Reuse and Recycling Centre in Thamesmead to clamp down on the growth of free visits made by people from neighbouring boroughs.

The council is making rule changes because a recent survey across five days revealed 57 per cent of visitors to the centre had postcodes outside Greenwich.

It has been estimated the council is paying a total of £140,000 year to dispose of non-residents' rubbish.

It is hoped restricting access to the centre will make it less busy and reduce queuing times for Greenwich residents.

Any visitors who cannot produce proof of a Greenwich address will face a charge of £10 per trip.

Restricted items

There are also some changes to the amount of waste residents can dispose of at the centre from building or maintenance works.

Restrictions will be placed on the following items, which can only be dropped off in one visit per month, because they are extremely expensive to dispose of.

Asbestos - three small sheets

Hard core and rubble - five sacks

Plasterboard - five sacks

Car tyres - four

Major building project waste

Residents are being reminded that if they undertake major building projects they must dispose of the waste at a facility licensed for this or use a licensed skip company.

Cllr Denise Scott-McDonald, cabinet member for air quality, public realm and transport, said: "We want to send a clear message to residents from other boroughs that their rubbish is not welcome here. By making this change we can save a huge amount of money and make our service more efficient for Royal Greenwich residents.

"It is not acceptable for people from other places to bring their rubbish to the Royal Borough for free and it is not fair for our council tax payers to be picking up the bill for this."

She added: "We are also going to be cracking down on anyone suspected of using the reuse and recycling centre to dump commercial waste as the site is for the disposal of household waste only.

"We do appreciate many householders do undertake DIY projects and we will allow some building waste but in fairness to other residents we are introducing restrictions on this."