£10 charge for bulky waste to be scrapped

Free collections of bulky waste are being reintroduced by the council.

In a move that could lead to a drop in cases of fly tipping, cabinet councillors have agreed to scrap the £10 charge for removing large items of rubbish such as old furniture, fridges and carpets.

In future, householders will be able to have three items collected entirely free before any charges have to be paid.

The council will also work closer with charities to try and reuse items that are put out for collection.

Under the new scheme, which started this month:

Residents can have one free collection a year, with up to THREE items being removed for free.
A further two items can be put out at the same time and will cost £5 each to be removed
Anyone wanting to have more bulky rubbish removed at a different time in the year will be expected to pay a full commercial rate for removal.

But the council also accepts there has been an increase in fly tipping since the charge was introduced and councillors have been keen to see a solution that would bring back free collections without an expensive free for all.

In a report to the cabinet, Martin Kimber, the council’s environmental services director, said: “The new scheme will balance the needs of residents, control the potential for increases in municipal waste collected and disposed of, and reduce the number of fly tipping incidents.”

The free collections will cost the council an extra £80,000 per year. It follows an in-depth independent review of the existing service carried out by a social enterprise, Furniture Matters, which found that:

More items could be reused if they weren’t left outside for collection;
87% of councils charge for the service, with a national average cost of £5 per item;
The service was frequently abused by people using it to get rid of trade waste or rubbish that could have been recycled.