TAX fines against the company which runs an Alexandria landfill site could cost local taxpayers at least £750,000 in the next two years, council bosses have warned.

The Reporter recently revealed how Barr Environmental was facing a tax bill and penalties of an eye-watering £99million over their landfills in Auchencarroch, in Alexandria, and Garlaff near Cumnock.

West Dunbartonshire Council has five contracts with the firm, which the Tax Tribunal and Revenue Scotland found had diverted material destined for the landfill as part of the construction and development of the site. But that avoided classing the material as waste and having to pay landfill tax.

At a meeting on October 27, councillors were told that £250,000 has been set aside as a contingency this year and another £500,000 for the next financial year.

But the bill could be even higher if Barr charges more for waste disposal and passes it on to local authorities.

And West Dunbartonshire is already facing higher bills for waste after a significant drop in recycling rates by residents.

Council chief executive Joyce White said the tax case outcome meant they needed to put arrangements in place.

“This is a significant issue,” she said. “I initiated a meeting with South Ayrshire Council, East Ayrshire, Inverclyde and Argyll and Bute about significant concern this gives us as local authorities.

“We could be facing quite a significant increase in costs.”

Council leader Jonathan McColl asked if West Dunbartonshire was discussing the situation with other councils which don’t have contracts with Barr and which could potentially take waste from the area if needed.

Mrs White said Cosla had been included in the meeting to “flag this up across Scotland”.

Council officers said they were working on an “options appraisal” on the potential costs for alternative arrangements.

Barr Environmental is understood to be appealing the tax decision.

In a separate part of the council meeting, figures show the percentage of recycled household waste has fallen from 45 per cent in 2019/20 to just 34 per cent in 2020/21. The target last year was 58 per cent.

Council bosses said the pausing of brown bin collection and closure of civic amenity sites during the pandemic impacted recycling rates.

The more waste sent to landfills instead of getting recycled costs taxpayers more. It was Barr Environental’s diversion of waste to “recycling” that helped them win local authority contracts.