Central Bedfordshire Tidy Tip charges not ruled out amid rising costs

A detailed analysis is planned on the amount of waste people can dump for free at tidy tips in Central Bedfordshire because of rising costs, a meeting heard.

The ruling Independent administration on Central Bedfordshire Council (CBC) included a proposal to introduce charges for large amounts of DIY waste at its household waste recycling centres, in a corporate resources overview and scrutiny committee report.

CBC’s environmental services forecasting suggests a £2.1m overspend this year. That includes £1.16m on waste collection and street cleansing contracts because of contract inflation, £0.40m on landfill tax through extra tonnages, £0.30m on dry recycling from increased cost and tonnages, and a £0.17m overspend on household waste recycling centres from increased tonnages, and disposal of paint and dirty wood.

Options to manage the escalating cost of disposing of increased amounts of waste need reviewing, warned Independent Aspley and Woburn councillor John Baker in a social media post.

Accused by a Conservative councillor of a U-turn at the committee meeting, councillor Baker said the executive would delay considering the proposals for some charges at tidy tips.

But he told councillors: “Conservative controlled Buckinghamshire County Council has exactly these charges and Hertfordshire implements a similar scheme. I don’t think there’s anything wrong in having a sensible debate about how we manage waste going to a household tip.”

Executive member for finance councillor Baker explained later on Facebook: “After listening to other councillors, who appreciate there’s a problem to solve but would like more information, we’ve taken the decision to remove those charges until a wider conversation can take place.

“Our sustainability strategy promotes the idea of ‘conscientious consumerism’, which aligns with national campaigns for people to consider the five Rs of ‘Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Re-purpose and Recycle’. Recycle is the last option, with going to landfill being the last resort.

“You may have read some social media articles claiming the council is to start charging you to take your rubbish to a tidy tip. That isn’t what’s happening, and nobody at CBC has made any such suggestion.

“We need to focus our debate around the increasingly large amounts of waste taken to the tidy tips, such as DIY materials where disposal costs are high. Examples include old walls, bathrooms, kitchens, loft insulation and roof felt.

“About 2,300 tonnes of waste was dumped at the tidy tips In May 2021. That increased to 3,900 tonnes by this May, which is a 70 per cent rise in three years. Typically, a tonne (1,000kg) of DIY waste can cost the council around £200.

“This will only increase as the landfill tax is cranked up. This extra expense has stretched the council’s environmental services budget, and significant overspends are predicted this year.

“The end result of these increased costs is less money being spent on other priorities, such as education,” he added.

“We’ve reviewed the policies of our neighbouring authorities and each has a version of restriction, booking, resident identification requirements, or charging in place.

“Whether CBC can retain its current more relaxed approach to the use of tidy tips is a debate for councillors in due course.”