From Friday (1 April) the council has stopped selling sacks for the collection of waste, as well as stickers for cardboard boxes. Collections will cease altogether in July 2016, when businesses will be required to find an alternative private contractor to remove waste.
According to proposals considered by the council whilst setting its 2016/17 budget, ending the trade waste collection service for non-council buildings and re-aligning collection routes would result in a reduction of around 24 full-time equivalent staff, as well as ending temporary contracts.
Ending of the collection service comes after Edinburgh council stopped accepting commercial waste at its community recycling centres from October 2015. The council estimates that the acceptance of commercial waste at its recycling centres cost in excess of £794,000 per year net of income for providing the service.
Recycling centres
Businesses paid for the use of the service at recycling centres, but the council claimed that handling commercial waste at the sites was ‘resource intensive’ and that additional employees and plant equipment were needed to manage the incoming waste.
In total the savings made by the council through these measures, as well as a review of the frequency of garden waste collection services, are expected to create savings of up to £500,000 for 2016/17 and a further £650,000 for 2017/18.
According to the report, the cessation of the external trade waste service would allow the council to focus on the ‘key priority’ of optimising domestic collections, whilst also benefiting from economies of scale in collecting waste from its own internal buildings.
The council also claims that the external market is better equipped to “provide the level of service that businesses require in the modern market, at equally competitive or even cheaper rates than are currently charged by the council”.
In a statement, the council informed customers of the decision to end the service. It said: “You will need to find an alternative collection company after we provide your last collection or sooner if you decide to leave earlier. If you find another company sooner, you can cancel your existing contract with us, subject to a notice period. If you decide to remain as a customer until your last collection then we may contact you to change your collection days.”
The council also added: “Stopping the service was part of the 2016/2017 budget savings plan because it does not make enough money to cover its running costs. To cover these it would mean increasing the charges to customers in an already competitive market place.”
Ban
The changes follow the roll-out of a scheme by the council to remove trade waste bins from the city’s streets from April 2015 – with containers only allowed to be present during timed collection windows (see letsrecycle.com story).
Businesses in Edinburgh will turn to the private sector to arrange for the collection of waste, and ensure compliance with the Waste (Scotland) Regulations which require businesses to take all reasonable steps to ensure separate collection of all dry recyclables, while those in urban areas producing over 5kg of food waste must also present it for collection.
Register for free to comment