Community composters in compost heap “tax” rebellion

From July 1 2005, amendments to the waste management licensing regulations will mean any community group or business composting more than 5 tonnes of waste a year must pay 252 to register with the Environment Agency. The company must then pay a further 174 a year to remain legal in subsequent years.

” By their own admission the Environment Agency does not have the staff to track down all the compost heaps “
– Nicky Scott, CCN
The Community Composting Network (CCN) is advising its 300 members to send in the relevant forms to register with the Environment Agency, but not to include any payment. It is calling the fees a compost heap “tax”, and wants to see a “full clarification of the new regulations”.

Discriminatory


Nicky Scott, chairman of the CCN, said: “There are tens of thousands of compost heaps around the UK which fall under these regulations, at allotments, country parks and stately homes.

“By their own admission the Environment Agency does not have the staff to track down this compost heaps. This means that the only compost heaps which would pay this tax are the ones known of by the statutory authorities due to their high public profile,” he added.

Mr Scott added: “To charge community groups up to 40 a tonne to compost, when the cost of licensing landfill is pence per tonne and the cost of burning garden waste is nothing, can only be seen as discriminatory.”

Contradiction


This announcement from the CCN follows criticism levelled at the regulations from stable owners, which were originally effected as the regulations apply to horse manure. According to the CCN, this criticism prompted the Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs to announce that stables won't be charged.

But the CCN said: “This statement contradicts the regulations and effectively makes the legislation meaningless even before it comes into force.

The CCN is now urging Defra to issue clear guidance as to how it expects the Environment Agency to enforce these new regulations, including detailed justification as to which compost heaps will be policed and which won't as well as the punishments to be applied to non compliance.

Mr Scott added: “If Tony Blair wants protecting the environment to be at the heart of government policy he should immediately abandon this tax on composting – which is the most sustainable form of waste management.”