COMBEBOW Tip near Lewdown, which receives some 30,000 tons of rubbish annually, will be full by September.

Devon Waste Management, which operates the site, is currently investigating alternative locations.

Managing director Richard May said they were looking for an existing site ? and not seeking to establish a new one.

?There are a number of possibilities in the county and adjacent to the county that may be used.?

Mr May said Combebow was ?a fairly small local site? and by modern standards was not excessive ? but they still had to find somewhere else for the rubbish to go.

He said from the local community point of view closing Combebow would be a good thing because it would mean less traffic. The tip had been going since the early 80s and had been a ?useful facility? for the area.

?There may be some impact in having to take the bulk of the rubbish to another site because there is nowhere in West Devon.?

Devon Waste Management is sub-contracted by Devon County Council to get rid of the waste that is collected and delivered through West Devon Borough Council.

When the tip closes the civic amenity and recycling centre ? where people bring items of domestic waste ? will also close.

It will be replaced by a new site in Okehampton which Devon County Council is establishing at the Exeter Road Industrial Estate.

?This will be more convenient for the people in the Okehampton area,? said Mr May.

He said the amount of waste being generated was growing each year and so were the targets imposed by the Government for dealing with it.

?There is a requirement to reduce the amount of waste that goes into landfill sites by the end of the decade. Also, West Devon Borough Council has to achieve recycling targets for the Government,? said Mr May.

?There is a general consensus with everyone that we all have to see the reduction of landfill waste and the increase of recycling.?