The move will coincide with government’s ban on DIY waste charging, which will come into effect on 1 January 2024, after the legislation was laid before parliament and approved on 21 November.
The government controversially announced plans in June to scrap the charging for DIY waste at HWRCs (see letsrecycle.com story), which it said form part of efforts to reduce fly-tipping.
To comply with this, Hampshire has announced that from the New Year, up to two 50-litre rubble bags, or one bulky item such as a sink or toilet pedestal will be accepted for free, at a maximum frequency of four visits over four weeks.
Anything more than this amount will be chargeable at current rates, “as permitted by national legislation, to cover specialist disposal costs”.
DIY waste will be accepted at all HWRCs in Hampshire except New Alresford due to its restricted size. Customers must also be able to lift, carry and empty out their DIY waste.
Veolia runs HWRCs on behalf of Hampshire, under a £70 million contract agreed in 2016.
Costs
The council warned that the move could cost the authority £2 million per year.
The county council’s executive lead member for universal services, councillor Nick Adams-King, said: “While it is clearly positive for householders, we do estimate that the removal of fees from January could impose an additional cost to Hampshire council taxpayers of up to £2 million every year.
“This is because recycling or disposal of DIY waste, such as soil, rubble, asbestos and gypsum board, requires specialist processing and the fees we currently charge help to cover these expenses.
“An additional cost of this scale comes at a time when our finances are stretched to the limit, with difficult decisions needing to be taken about how the County Council can continue to deliver services in the future within the resources available. Last month we confirmed plans to consult with the public, in the New Year, on a range of savings proposals to help meet a £132 million budget shortfall faced by the local authority from April 2025, including a review of Hampshire’s HWRCs.”
Councils
Following the legislation coming into effect, other councils which have charges in place have also begun to scale back the charges.
Buckinghamshire council announced that it will also scrap the charges from 31 December in a post below.
Residents in Bucks will be able to dispose of DIY waste for free at Household Recycling Centres (HRCs) from 31/12/23. The changes have been brought in by central government & today our cabinet voted in favour of amending our Waste Access & Acceptance Policy to reflect this. [1/3] pic.twitter.com/0AgFyxNCUl
— Buckinghamshire Council (@BucksCouncil) December 12, 2023
This headline/press re;ease really is not helpful. DIY charges have not been scrapped, more that a free level has been introduced.
We really need to consider the site teams with these headlines, who regrettably are regularly abused on sites. They have to implement and defend these changes and policies much harder to do when headlines the public may see are misleading.