North Yorkshire taxpayers could face a multi-million-pound bill to keep a troubled waste plant near Knaresborough operating within the law. A North Yorkshire Council report reveals that work may be needed at Allerton Waste Recovery Park (AWRP) to meet stricter rules set by the Environment Agency. If the cost of the work exceeds £2m, the authority may have to pay. Council officials are working with an independent advisor to establish the likely costs required under the contract with operator Thalia Waste Management. Opposition councillors who criticised the decision to sign up to a 25-year contract for the plant to take household waste say the potential payments are “direct and known” consequences of the deal.