CABINET 15/7/2014 FOR INFORMATION AGENDA ITEM 9
BOROUGH OF POOLE
ENVIRONMENT OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE
3 JULY 2014
INTRODUCING CHARGES FOR NON-HOUSEHOLD WASTE ITEMS
AT THE HOUSEHOLD WASTE RECYCLING CENTRE (HWRC)
- PURPOSE OF REPORT
1.1To provide Members with information to agree the introduction of a reasonable charge for certain materials received at the Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC), providing residents with the option to dispose of non-household waste items in a safe, responsible and cost neutral way to the Council.
- RECOMMENDATIONS
2.1That Members recommend to Cabinet to introduce a reasonable charge for asbestos, plasterboard, soil and rubble (including DIY waste), gas canisters and tyres received at the HWRC to reduce waste disposal costs and deliver overall savings of £50,000 as identified in the Medium Term Financial Plan and budget approved by Council in February 2014.
2.2That Members recommend Cabinet to grant delegation to the Head of Service to set the prices for these materials, which will need to respond to changes in market values and charges.
- BACKGROUND
3.1The redeveloped HWRC on Nuffield Road was opened in November 2012. This was after an 18 month, £5m project to update and improve the HWRC as well as the Waste Transfer Station.
3.2The site is open every day (except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day) and is used by more than 200,000 visitors annually (228,221 in 2013/14).
3.3The site is open from Thursday to Tuesday 8.30am to 6pm (5pm October to March) and Wednesday 8.30am to 7pm (6pm October to March).
3.4The site is also open to certain Dorset County Council (DCC) residents (Upton, Corfe Mullen and Lytchett Matravers) who can apply for a permit from DCC in order to dispose of waste at the site. A record of these permits is keptand Borough of Poole recharge DCC for each visit.
3.5In 2013/14 the site had a recycling and composting rate of 70.6%.
3.6In March 2013 a chargeable commercial waste service was opened at the Waste Transfer Station (next to the HWRC), enabling local small businesses and traders to drop off waste, using the weighbridge, for a charge per tonne, depending on material type (minimum charge 100kg).
3.7Some types of waste accepted at the HWRC are classed as non-household waste for which a charge can be made. These items incur a significant cost for disposal, which in the case of soil and rubble is set to increase considerably this year.
3.8The approved budget for 2014-15 included a £50k saving for chargeable items at the HWRC to be implemented in this financial year.
- MATERIALS AFFECTED
4.1The materials affected by the introduction of a reasonable charge for disposal are:
◦tyres
◦bonded asbestos
◦plasterboard
◦soil and rubble (including 'DIY waste' e.g. bathroom suites)
◦gas canisters
4.2These materials have been brought by residents to the HWRC in the following amounts in the past three years:
Weight (tonnes)2011/12 / 2012/13 / 2013/14
Asbestos / 51.44 / 58.16 / 63.18
Plasterboard / 240.52 / 268.78 / 294.26
Soil and rubble / 2594.44 / 2306.13 / 2411.87
Gas canisters / 17.68 / 15.64 / 15.09
Tyres / 52.26 / 42.5 / 45.66
- CHARGES
5.1Appendix 1 shows associated costs charged for disposal at other Local Authorities' HWRCs for the materials identified.
5.2Only reasonable charges would be introduced based on the customers' other local options for disposal. For example, to dispose of a tyre at a garage would cost the customer in the region of £5 per tyre so a similar charge would be agreed for the site.
5.3It would not be practical or efficient for residents to use the weighbridge in the same way that commercial customers pay to dispose of waste at a charge per tonne. Introducing a charge for certain items would increase the demand for use of the weighbridge. This would not only have the effect of increasing the traffic in the Waste Transfer Station, which it was never designed for, therefore causing a safety risk to customers and staff on the site, but would also require the weighbridge to be staffed at all times that the HWRC is open. Due to the use of an automated weighbridge system, the weighbridge is currently staffed Monday to Friday from 2.30pm to 5.30pm and closed on all Bank Holidays and for a week at Christmas.
5.4A more practical way of taking payment would be to charge per item (tyres and gas canisters), per bag (soil, rubble) and per sheet (asbestos). This would allow payments to be taken at the HWRC using existing staff with little disruption to the current site layout. It would also allow residents to dispose of non-chargeable items at the same time without having to enter two different entrances.
5.5‘Chip & pin’ would be the only accepted payment method as it would be difficult to ensure the safety of site operatives if cash were received.
- FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
6.1In 2013/14 the Council spent a total of £55,053 to dispose of bonded asbestos, plasterboard, soil and rubble (including 'DIY waste' e.g. bathroom suites), gas canisters and tyres. Over the last three years the following amounts have been spent on disposal of these items:
2011/12 / 2012/13 / 2013/14Asbestos / £9,776 / £11,541 / £13,068
Plasterboard / £17,678 / £20,319 / £23,172
Soil and rubble* / £5,033 / £4,796 / £5,161
Gas canisters** / £6,452 / £12,648 / £7,854
Tyres / £6,637 / £5,397 / £5,798
TOTAL / £45,198 / £54,597 / £55,053
* Due to changes in landfill tax guidance, the cost of disposal of soil and rubble will increase from approximately £5k per annum to £35k per annum from 2014/15.
** Gas canisters are charged depending on the type of gas that they contain which is why there was higher cost of disposal in 2012/13 but a lower tonnage collected than the other two years.
6.2The Budget Report, as approved by Council in February 2014, identifies a £13.5m resource gap in the period to March 2018. This is after the assumed delivery of additional resources, savings and efficiencies of £21m over this four year period. Any strategic decisions relating to waste disposal need to be made with this in mind.
6.3The MTFP for 2014 – 2018 was agreed in Full Council on 25th February 2014 which included Appendix 1B stating all of the “green rated proposals” items identified by the Star Chamber should be implemented in this financial year. These items included a £50k saving for chargeable items at the Nuffield site. Due to the increased cost of disposal for soil and rubble (increase by £30k), this has the net effect of making this figure £80k.
- LEGAL IMPLICATIONS
7.1Section 51 (paragraph 1) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 gives the Council, acting as the Waste Disposal Authority, the duty to arrange for a place to be provided where residents in its area may deposit their household waste free of charge.
7.2Section 51 (paragraph 3) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 allows the Authority at places provided under the duty in paragraph 1 to be available for deposit of household or other controlled waste by other persons on such terms as to payment (if any) as the Authority determines.
7.3The Controlled Waste Regulations 2012 state that waste from construction or demolition works, including preparatory works, and further defined as improvement, repairs and alterations is classed as Industrial Waste not Household Waste. European Waste Classification codes for Construction and Industrial Waste include concrete, bricks, tiles, ceramics, soil, stones, asbestos and gypsum based materials.
7.4The disposal of tyresis included in the End of Life Vehicle legislation and is therefore not classified as Household Waste.
- EQUALITIES IMPLICATIONS
8.1The site is available and accessible to all residents within the borough as well as those with a permit from Dorset County Council.
8.2Assistance is given to those customers that request it to help to move waste from their vehicle to the collection containers.
8.3From an initial EQIA screening, it is possible that there could be an impact on elderly residents who may not have credit/debit card facilities. In these instances it may be possible to arrange for the customer to pay with cash at the Newfields office and then present a receipt at the site.
- COMMUNICATIONS AND TIMING
9.1Before the new charges are introduced, the new policy will be advertised on the website, on social media as well as issuing a press release to the local media. An article will also be included in the next available edition of Poole News.
9.2Two weeks prior to the introduction of the charges, all visitors to the site will be advised that the charges will take effect shortly and be issued with a flyer with more information.
9.3If approved by Cabinet then it is intended to introduce these changes on the 1st October.
SHAUN ROBSON
Head of Environmental & Consumer Protection Services
Contact Officer:
Laura Neil
Project Officer
e.mail:
Tel: 261725
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Appendix 1 – Charges at other Local Authority HWRCs
Soil/Rubble / Plasterboard / Asbestos / Tyres / Gas bottles / PaymentDevon / £1.10/bag / £2.60/sheet/bag / £8.50/sheet/bag / £1.50/tyre / Cash or credit card
City of York /
- £21/visit for van/trailer (max 500kg)
- £11/visit for car (max 250kg)
- Pre-paid sack £2/sack
- £11/sheet (up to 50kg)
- £5.50/bag
- Small - £7 (up to 10kg)
- Medium - £11 (10-20kg)
- Big/specialised container - £36.50
Somerset /
- £2.90/sack
- £14.50/small van/trailer (up to 250kg)
- £29/medium van/trailer (up to 500kg)
- £58/large van/trailer (up to 1 tonne)
- £116/lorry/trailer (over 1 tonne)
- £3.30/un-rimmed tyre
- £4.20/rimmed tyre
- £45.60/large (lorry size) tyre
- £6/bottle (less than 10kg)
- £12/bottle (10-20kg)
- £35/bottle (specialist cylinders)
Brent / £190/tonne (General charge for all building waste inc. plasterboard, tiles, windows, doors, timber, wooden flooring, rubble, bathroom suites/fittings, fencing, sheds, paving, kitchen units, soil & turf)
- £19 min charge up to 100kg in a car
- £38 min charge up to 200kg in any other vehicle
Swindon / £7.50/sheet/bag / £2.60/tyre
Oxfordshire / * / £2.50/tyre
*3 items or 3 sacks (80l) of DIY or plasterboard in each 4 week period. £1 per item afterwards
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