Hertfordshire county council’s cabinet decided on 23 September to go ahead with proposed reductions to payments made to Waste Collection Authorities – the district councils within the county – by Hertfordshire county council, the Waste Disposal Authority.
The money – known as the Alternative Financial Model (AFM) – is intended to reward the collection authorities for reducing their residual waste in line with targets. If this fund is reduced district councils say they will not be able to carry out waste minimisation measures.
The AFM will be cut by £500,000 per annum for the next three years, beginning in 2020/21. Hertfordshire cited a need to protect services such as adult social care as a reason for the decrease in spending.
Hertfordshire spent £44.1m on its WDA work in 2018/19 and estimates that £8 million more will be required by 2022/23. The council has committed to saving £19.9m from its budget in 2020/21, rising to £44.3m the following year.
It says the waste management budget is largely demand led, meaning savings can only be made through the Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) service and the AFM. In 2018/19, £4,147,472 was distributed to WCAs through the AFM.
Market concerns
But representatives from the collection authorities objected to the cuts and their timing in a consultation held by the county council, with Ka Ng – corporate director for resources, environment & cultural services at Welwyn Hatfield district council – writing to Hertfordshire on behalf of all districts.
“It should be noted that this proposed reduction comes at a time when the falling global demand for recyclates has already resulted in WCAs bearing significant additional cost associated with their commitment to recycling.”
She said: “It should be noted that this proposed reduction comes at a time when the falling global demand for recyclates has already resulted in WCAs bearing significant additional cost associated with their commitment to recycling.
“Over the last 12-18 months alone, market volatility has led to six figure budgetary pressures for a significant number of WCAs, nationally as well as across Hertfordshire.”
Ms Ng suggested “the negative financial impact of the proposed funding reduction on the ten WCAs would outweigh the benefits for one WDA”.
Legislation changes
Ray Figg, head of community services at Three Rivers district council, also raised concerns about how the cuts would impact WCA’s future work implementing measures from the government’s Resources and Waste strategy.
“It will not be until at least this time next year that we are in a better position to understand the legislative changes the government will bring forth in response to the consultations,” Mr Figg commented.
“Therefore until the uncertainties and unknowns of the EPR funding and the new burdens protocol are fully worked through we believe it is too soon to reduce the AFM.”
Waste services in the county are managed by the Hertfordshire WasteAware Partnership, which consists of all ten district councils as well as the county council.
Register for free to comment