The Dorset Waste Partnership (DWP) joint committee has agreed to introduce charges for non-household waste at Dorset’s 11 household waste recycling centres (HWRCs), potentially saving the council £200,000 a year.

The decision was made on the same day that the committee heard that it faces a budget overspend of £686,000 in 2015/16.

At a meeting on Monday (14 September), the joint committee approved a charging structure for the disposal of materials such as rubble, plasterboard and tyres.

Under the new scheme, which falls in line with the neighbouring unitary authority of Poole’s structure, householders will pay:

• £1.50 per bag of soil or rubble or item of DIY waste, such as ceramic basins;
• £6.50 per bag or £12 per sheet of asbestos;
• £2.50 per bag or £10 per sheet of plasterboard;
• £5 per car tyre; and
• between £6 and £35 per gas canister, depending on size.

The DWP estimates these charges could generate £250,000 a year, offset by the initial set-up costs of about £20,000.

A public consultation seeking public opinion on a range of options to reduce the £3.3 million cost of running the 11 HWRCs garnered 7,440 responses. Of these, three quarters said that closing one or more of the HWRCs permanently, one of the options given, would be unacceptable.

In a ranking of the various options proposed by the DWP, 57 per cent of respondents felt that charging for non-household waste was more acceptable than the other options.

The contract for managing the partnership’s HWRCs is currently out to tender, meaning the charges for non-household materials are unlikely to come in before the new contract starts next August.

Changes to non-household waste collection will achieve ‘much needed savings’

Commenting on the new scheme, Cllr Anthony Alford, Chair on the DWP joint committee, said: “The results [of the consultation] showed just how highly residents value Dorset’s recycling centres.

“HWRCs are mainly provided for recycling ordinary household materials. The types of waste for which there will be a small charge are the result of home improvements or can be disposed of in other legal ways, such as skip hire and garages.

“The changes agreed will achieve significant and much needed savings with the minimum impact on the majority of people who use our centres.”

DWP faces big overspend despite financial improvements

Monday’s meeting also saw an update on the 37-point action plan implemented after a ‘catastrophic’ rollout of ‘Recycle for Dorset’, the DWP’s integrated recycling collection scheme, and a vast budget overspend of £2.8 million in 2014/15.

Despite a range of cost-cutting measures, recent monitoring of the budget predicts an overspend of £686,000 in the 2015/16 financial year, reduced from the £911,000 anticipated earlier this year.

Although the new recycling scheme, which completes its phased rollout next month, has come under much criticism, the recycling rate in the county has increased from 54 per cent in 2013/14 to 59 per cent in 2014/15, with the amount of waste sent to landfill halving in the same period.

Similar changes in Cornwall increases fly-tipping instances

A similar HWRC charging scheme was introduced last September in Cornwall and has resulted in at least short-term increased rates of fly-tipping.

Last month the council announced that in the eleven months since charging for the removal of non-household items had begun, instances of fly-tipping of chargeable items had increased by 156 per cent (from 321 to 823).

Illegal dumping of tyres saw the biggest rise going from 99 (September-July 2013/14) to 309 (September-July 2014/15). The increase of 212 per cent came just a year after the rate had fallen by 33 per cent (149 from September-July 2012/13).

Cornwall Council, however, has said that it anticipated this short-term rise and states that it has “achieved significant savings for council tax payers as a result of the introduction of the charges at household waste recycling centres”.

Read the full results of the Dorset Waste Partnership consultation into HWRC provision.