The Local Authorities (Prohibition of Charging Residents to Deposit Household Waste) Order 2015, was passed on Thursday (March 26) and will take 28 days to come into force.
The order brings into law amendments to the 1990 Environmental Protection Act and the 1967 Civic Amenities Act barring councils from charging residents at the point of entry, exit or disposal for the use of HWRCs.
For local authorities where residents are already being charged for the service, the law does not apply until April 1 2020.
The issue of councils charging residents for services, particularly the use of civic amenity sites has long been an issue of contention for Communities Secretary Eric Pickles, who has in the past labelled the so-called ‘tip tax’ as “counter productive” and likely to create an incentive for fly-tipping.
Pickles
Mr Pickles’ Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) outlined its intention to prevent local authorities charging any entry or exit fee for using a ‘discretionary HWRC’ service in the consultation launched in January.
Councils have criticised the plans to restrict the ability of local authorities to charge for the use of HWRC services after DCLG said it was “not persuaded by arguments against” changes to the legislation (see letsrecycle.com story).
The Local Authority Recycling Advisory Committee (LARAC) which represents recycling officers across the UK, changes to the law are likely to impose greater restrictions on how councils are able to balance budgets.
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