Staffordshire County Council has announced that it will be introducing a charge to cover the cost of recycling non-household waste, from November 1st, at Stone’s household waste recycling centre, as well as their other centres across the county.
A big bag of soil and or rubble will cost £3; plasterboard will cost £4 per sheet, or big bag; and tyres will cost £4 each.
Gill Heath, Staffordshire County Council’s cabinet member for Environment and the Communities, said:
“Our recycling centres take domestic waste produced during normal day-to-day household life free of charge and that will continue unchanged.
“But waste generated by DIY, home improvements or extensive landscaping of gardens is not legally regarded as household rubbish and, like many other councils, we’ve decided to cover the cost of processing it.”
The charges will apply at the council’s waste recycling centres at Biddulph, Bilbrook, Burntwood, Burton, Cannock, Cheadle, Leek, Lichfield, Newcastle, Rugeley, Stafford, Stone, Uttoxeter and Wombourne.
Gill Heath added:
“Charging to cover the costs of disposing of such materials as soil, rubble, plasterboard and tyres will ensure that we continue to offer residents a convenient way to dispose of awkward and difficult waste.
“At the same time reducing the cost of recycling will allow us to focus on supporting the most vulnerable people in society and statutory services in Staffordshire.”
[box type=”info” align=”aligncenter” ]Payment can be made at the recycling centres by debit or credit card, but not by cash, and standard ‘rubble’ bags, with a base measuring 76cm by 96cm, will also be available for purchase there.[/box]
This type of waste brought by the public is not classed as trade waste. Asbestos will still be accepted at the Bilbrook, Burton, Cannock, Leek, Stafford and Wombourne sites designated for handling it between the hours of 1 and 3pm.
9 comments
Ray Knowles
More fly tipping coming caused by greed, which causes most of the problems in this world. All the council tax payers will ultimately pay twice.
Barry Smith
Presumably, the cost of recycling included in council tax had been calculated on the amount of “domestic waste produced during normal day-to-day household life” that it is expected people will take to the tips during a year. If the council are not legally required to make provision for rubble, tyres, etc then this is being provided as an extra service and must be paid for. The alternatives are, then, increasing the council tax for everyone or making charges for those who need to use it on an individual basis.
I have used the facilities of the Stone tip many times for the type of rubbish that their skips take and the occasional electrical goods. Any building rubbish, soil, etc has been taken away by the contractor involved (and they then have to pay to tip that and include the cost in the price of the job) or hiring a skip. For the occasional bag of rubble, soil, etc, I have rung before going to make sure which site to take it to.
I have not made a study of “fly tipped” waste, but what I have seen has seemed to be composed, in the main, of material and items that a council site would have taken, or collected by arrangement, so although cost may play a part, I doubt if it the only motive: more likely laziness and no social conscience in general.
KH
This is short sighted local government. Every time councils put barriers to disposing of rubbish people find ways of losing their rubbish through fly-tipping or other ways. I saw a whole sofa this weekend. The council needs to wake up to the fact they are a service paid a lot of money by hard (or harder) working people, they are not a police authority. If they acknowledged this their efforts might quickly become productive.
If we were to charge Stafford Borough Council for their ineptitude for, lets say town centres, they would be giving us money back for the council taxes. What on earth did they think they were doing giving an olympic sized swimming pool and diving site in Stafford over to private companies to make a smaller swimming pool in Stafford. The same council has also sold Westbridge Park to a supermarket to create a small swimming pool and gym, to replace the gym that is there and in competition to the public funded pool at Alleynes. No savings at all. What a waste of money and empties our local town centre again.
I would happily sit down in public or private and rationalise council ‘services’ with Stafford Borough Council. The problem with public sector workers is that they have no real world perspective, they only blame ‘cuts’ that are not really cuts. Useless.
MR Pickering
A Couple of weeks ago I took a few blocks for my daughter ( in a small trailer ) to STONE tip to be told I will have to take them to STOKE tip who they told me my trailer had to be registered with stoke council ..they told me to go to POTTERIES DEMOLITION .. which I did and that COST ME £ SIX YES 6 POUNDS AND HALF A DAY ?? for what I thought would be 30 min’s ….== for 12 blocks. … I /WE PAY £ 100& 100 OF POUNDS PER YEAR ???what for..
Keith
Utter madness! Is there anyone on the Council with an ounce of common sense?
They’ve killed Stone High Street and now they have sealed the fate of our lovely countryside.
Lana Bellinger
I agree Keith. Flytipping will rear it’s ugly head.
T
Madness – we pay enough council tax! Especially in rural areas. It will cost them a fortune in clearing up from fly tipping. Again lets penalise the general public to keep them all in overrated, over paid jobs and fund a building which sits half empty in Stafford.
Phil
It will be interesting to see what the rising costs the council incur for an expected increase in fly tipping with such a decision.
Keith
I agree with you Phil.
What a totally idiotic policy – this will reduce recycling and increase fly tipping.