“For many councils, reducing their abilities to charge for the disposal of DIY waste will lead to funding reductions that will have to be passed on to reduced waste services popular with our residents."
Banning councils from being able to charge households to leave DIY waste at recycling centres could mean tip closures and reduced hours in some council areas, a survey by the Local Government Association reveals today.
The LGA is urging the Government to reverse the plans which will impact services and cost some councils upwards of £1 million.
Removing funding from local waste services, at a time when costs of providing them continue to rise, will leave some councils with little choice but to reduce services the public have come to expect and rely on.
A snapshot survey by the National Association of Waste Disposal Organisations and the LGA, found that due to the reduced income:
- a third of impacted councils would consider closing recycling centres;
- over a quarter of those impacted would consider reduced opening hours;
- a quarter would consider reducing the material types accepted.
Almost all councils impacted (97 per cent) do not expect the ban on charges to be offset by savings in dealing with fly-tipping or elsewhere.
Further, three in four councils impacted fear that the ban in charging will lead to large, wider increases in costs beyond the loss of income, in part due to abuse from small commercial operators masquerading as households.
Cllr Darren Rodwell, environment spokesperson for the LGA said:
“Public satisfaction with local waste services remains high, which is something councils are proud of and work hard to maintain.
“For many councils, reducing their abilities to charge for the disposal of DIY waste will lead to funding reductions that will have to be passed on to reduced waste services popular with our residents.
“We continue to seek genuine solutions to fly-tipping and are pressing for tougher sentencing and greater use of tracking technology. We are urging the Government to rethink this plan; it is not a good time to be reducing waste services popular with our residents.”
Notes to editors
The LGA surveyed waste disposal authorities (WDAs) only. WDAs are local authorities responsible for waste collections, these include unitary, district, borough, city and some county councils, as well as many joint WDAs between groups councils, There are 122 WDAs in total.