DIY waste charges

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From 1st April, the County Council introduced charges for the disposal of DIY waste at waste and recycling centres. You can read more about the charges at the Council’s

I did not support the new charges but now we are stuck with them it is important to keep an eye on the effects. There is a real worry that it will lead to more fly-tipping.

Challenging the decision

Liberal Democrat councillors asked the following question at County Hall committee:

‘Can the Chairman of Environment, Development & Transport Committee, comment on the contradiction between the Government statement by Lord Bourne in the House of Lords on 20 March 2017 (HL5836) and page 20 of its Litter Strategy for England April 2017, on the legality of charging local residents for DIY waste at household waste recycling centres?

Does the Chairman agree with the then Environment Secretary, Andrea Ledsom, when she said in April 2017 that “Charging local residents for doing the responsible thing and taking their household waste to the tip is not only unfair and unacceptable, but could also be a lead factor in the reported increases in fly-tipping”.

And will he join with other Conservative-run Councils such as West Sussex in suspending all charges for the disposal of DIY materials generated by householders?’

Norman Lamb MP has also agreed to ask a Parliamentary Question:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what is his policy on the practice of local authorities charging residents to dispose of DIY household waste.

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of proposals by Norfolk County Council to introduce charges for DIY waste; and if he will make a statement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to page 20 of the ‘Litter Strategy for England’, published in April 2017, which states that “DIY waste is classed as household waste if it results from work a householder would normally carry out”, how this waste is defined by his Department and what items or materials it is intended to cover.

What you can do

Please make sure you report any fly-tipping that you see. We can only challenge the assumption that it will not lead to increased fly-tipping if we show the authorities that it has done so.