Homeowners may have to pay to dump non-household waste at rubbish tips under proposals set out by Kent County Council.

The council says it wants to bring in charges for waste such as soil, rubble, hardcore and plasterboard - building material that it has no obligation to accept.

Residents could pay between £4 and £6 for such waste, according to a consultation.

The plans have been described as “complete lunacy” by a Kent MP as it could lead to more fly-tipping.

The council politician in charge of the move said KCC was following in the footsteps of many other authorities and charges would enable the council to continue to operate all 18 of its tips.

Cllr Mike Whiting, cabinet member for waste, said: “More than 99% of Kent’s household waste is recycled or recovered to produce energy, with less than 1% sent to landfill.

"However, we need to reduce our annual waste and recycling budget further, while providing residents with an accessible service.

"At a time when other local authorities are closing their sites down, reducing opening hours or not accepting certain waste, KCC is looking at ways to make the system more efficient to allow it to continue to offer the best possible service.

“KCC would like to continue to offer a service and proposes a modest charge to off-set the cost.”

South Thanet MP Craig Mackinlay warned the proposals would lead to more fly-tipping.

“It’s complete lunacy. It will cost more in the long run because KCC will only have to end up clearing rubbish that has been fly-tipped on its roads.”

He tweeted: “I could never agree to a charge for this waste.Taking such waste is a true ‘spend to save’ measure. The alternative will be illegal dumping on the highways and by-ways and private land costing us all more to clear up as well as the environmental damage.”

But Cllr Whiting said there was not strong evidence that charging would increase fly-tipping.

“The evidence I am aware of would suggest that we should not expect to see an increase. Most fly-tipping is illegal activity by criminals and we will continue to work with the police to stamp it out.”

KCC already charges for car and motorbike tyres which are also categorised as non-household waste.

Operating the tips costs the authority £10m each year with about 185,000 tonnes of waste taken. An estimated 3.5m visits are made each year.

KCC says many people outside the county use its sites and an estimated increase in the population of 400,000 over the next decade will mean that demand for waste and recycling sites will increase.

You can complete the online questionnaire at www.kent.gov.uk/wasteconsultation