A LARGE rural area of North Yorkshire is facing a rubbish disposal crisis.

A landfil tip used by Ryedale District Council, at Caulklands Quarry, Thornton-le-Dale, is nearly full, according to John Brown, the authority's environmental co-ordinator.

A North Yorkshire Waste Management Group has been set up and talks have begun between North Yorkshire County Council - the authority responsible for waste disposal - and the borough and district councils of Scarborough, Harrogate, Ryedale, Richmondshire, Craven, Hambleton and Selby.

While Ryedale recycles about 30 per cent of its waste - one of the highest figures of any local authority in the country - there is still a residue of uncycleable material that has to be disposed of, said Mr Brown.

He said one of the biggest headaches the council faced was the cost of moving waste.

If no alternative is found, once Caulklands closes the waste will have to be taken by truck to Seamer Carr, near Scarborough - a 70-mile round trip from Helmsley.

As well as the distance involved, the cost factor is made more serious because diesel-fuelled refuse trucks only do four miles to the gallon.

Ryedale is exploring ways of funding an intermediate transfer site for Ryedale until the county council's environmental services department finds a permanent solution.

Ian Fielding, of the county council's environmental services department, said a strategy was being devised for future disposal of refuse because it was vital the volume of waste put into landfill tips was drastically reduced or the authority could be heavily penalised financially.

He said it was looking to have as much as 50 per cent of waste recycled because landfill tax costs would rise significantly each year from now on. He said various options were being considered.