In a time of relative declining budgets for English Council services and greater demands, there is surprisingly wide variety of approaches to charging from certain types of household waste for which a charge can be made. These include classes of property under the Controlled Waste Regulations 2012, which contains powers for charging in certain circumstances for collection and / or disposal. The relevant types of property include: schools, community halls, care homes, leisure centres, charity shops, prisons and so on.

It is apparent that in different waste collection authorities (WCAs) that those charges and approaches vary from zero charge to (close to) commercial rates, depending on which Council area a particular premise is located. So should you charge or not? And how much?

Here are some Q&As, as a starter…

Are household waste collections always ‘free’ of charge? Answer: No, certain types of household waste can be charged for (like garden or bulky waste), and certain sources of household waste (like from leisure centres, schools and charity shops) can also be charged for collection. It is also possible to charge for additional containers, above a ‘standard’ level.

Is commercial type waste always ‘charged’ for collection? Answer: No, you may have some ‘commercial type’ waste from, for example, celebrations after a Christening at a church hall, but as this is associated with the religious activity and if no money has changed hands, there would be no charge.

Can you charge for disposal of household waste? Answer: it depends. The controlled waste regulations (2012) include where charges for disposal can also be included, but there are nuances around charity shops, schools and community centres, where the answer could be yes or no, depending on the context.

Do Councils have to impose charges on premises / waste sources that could be charged for? Answer: There is an expectation that Councils will recover reasonable costs for providing services where they have the ability to do so. This could come up in audit, particularly in straightened times.

There are also important issues relating to wider waste policy and legislation, for example the appropriate application of the waste hierarchy. Furthermore, this will be complicated in a few weeks’ time when these types of premise have to comply with Simpler Recycling of the collection of four categories of waste – food, paper and card, other dry recyclables and residual waste.

If Councils do not make any charges for such properties they are potentially missing out on valid (and valuable) revenue streams, but need to balance charging strategies in the context of potentially new cost burdens being placed on the customers. We have been working with clients to develop decision trees and best practice examples, to help guide Officers and Councillors in their choices.

For support on waste collection and disposal strategy, contact info@frithrm.com or call 01746 552423 and ask for Paul. Further information on our activities is at www.frithrm.com