Birmingham city council is rolling out business waste collection vehicles fitted with bin weighing and identification systems to help boost revenue and cut costs from its VAT-free commercial waste services.
Four of the councils new fleet of 16 trade waste vehicles have so far been fitted with the technology, which has been supplied by electronics firm MOBA Mobile Automation UK.
But, the council said the equipment is not being used for a commercial pay-as-you-throw service, but to ensure the accuracy of our current charging policy.
Birmingham council has operated a chargeable commercial waste service based on volume, and although it does have weight limits in place, the authority has until now not been able to accurately measure the weight of customers waste.
According to the council: Existing weight limits are in place, however previously the council had no method to measure accurately and the charges were dictated by the size, number and frequency of emptying the commercial bins.
According to MOBA, the technology will help to reduce costs and increase revenue from the council-run service, which is also exempt from value-added tax (VAT).
Local authority commercial waste collection services have been exempt from VAT since 2011, after HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) carried out a policy review, something which the Birmingham council says gives its service an advantage over other private company services (see letsrecycle.com story).
According to the Birmingham city council website, the authoritys wholly-owned and run commercial waste service does not exist to make a profit and does not lock our customers into lengthy contracts.
‘Every council in the UK is looking to find new ways to reduce their operating costs, and so by introducing bin weight measurement it will allow municipalities to more closely manage their customers and eliminate the overloading of bins.’
Ian Lewis, MOBA UKs general manager
The council adds: We do not charge VAT on our services another advantage of using Birmingham Commercial Waste Services.
Costs
MOBA said the bin identification and weighing system would help avoid the costs to the council of sending back a vehicle to collect a missed bin, as well as resolving disputes with customers who claim their bins have not been emptied.
Ian Lewis, MOBA UKs general manager, said: An increasing number of municipalities are now seeing the benefits that bin weighing and RFID technology brings. This will not only make waste collection processes more transparent but it will also help to optimise them by reducing costs and even increasing revenue.
Mr Lewis added: Every council in the UK is looking to find new ways to reduce their operating costs, and so by introducing bin weight measurement it will allow municipalities to more closely manage their customers and eliminate the overloading of bins. This will also allow them to have more meaningful conversations with their commercial customers about waste services better suited to their needs or, better still, to provide practical help to reduce the amount of waste they throw.
Birmingham Commercial Waste Services provides clinical waste services, pre-paid sacks for trade refuse, graffiti removal, refuse containers and skips, equipment hire and special collection services.
The council-run firm also offer paper, cardboard, glass and mixed material recycling collection services as well as waste and recycling services for events.
MOBA
Headquartered in Limburg, Germany, MOBA provides mobile electronics, identification systems and weighing technology for construction machinery and waste disposal vehicles.
The company is also currently fitting bin identification technology to Malvern Hill district council waste collection vehicles (see letsrecycle.com story).
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