This comes as the council is also due to begin charging for garden waste collection services from April 2023, too.
The HWRC policy, which was previously in place between January and June 2021, will mean that residents who bring soil, rubble, plasterboard and asbestos for disposal will need to pay.
The charges will remain at the same level as they were during that period – soil and rubble will be £2.40 per bag or item, plasterboard £6 per bag or sheet and bonded asbestos £11 per bag or sheet.
A report which went before the council on 16 November outlined the plans for HWRC charges, and the decision was not called in, which means it will go ahead from Monday. It is hoped this will deliver £177,000 of savings.
The report highlighted how inflation, rising energy costs and rising demand for social care services are causing huge budget pressures for all local authorities and outlined a package of proposals to help close Plymouth’s gap, which included reintroducing the charges.
Charges
The charges were scrapped in June 2021 after Conservatives won a majority of council from Labour, but was not able to take overall control, with nine seats so six.
However, these are now going to be introduced again as the council begins to battle rising costs.
The council said the reintroduction of the policy brings Plymouth in line with the majority of local authorities nationwide and locally with Devon, Cornwall and Torbay.
Residents bringing any of the charged materials to Chelson will be directed to a dedicated area of the site. Payment will be by card only.
‘Difficult decision’
Councillor Bill Wakeham, Cabinet member for the Environment and Street Scene, said: “This has been a difficult decision that simply must be taken in light of the current financial crisis.
“Chelson Meadow is a ‘household waste’ centre and generally, the kind of materials that we are going to be charging for relate to DIY construction and landscaping.
“Clearly, this will only effect a small minority of residents with most people able to use the centre as they always have done.
“Hopefully, this may act as a driver for households undertaking home improvement works to try and reuse and recycle.”
Garden waste
The council is also introducing a £49 per year fee for garden waste collections, with a £10 discount for payments in advance.
Garden waste collections run from April to November, and will be collected every other week. The council said those who do not want to pay “can always take garden waste to our recycling centres”.
The council said: “We know that this change will not be welcome at this time, but it is something we must do in order to help protect the vital services that we are required to provide.
“We know charging will mean that a few people may decide that they don’t want garden waste collections anymore and might want to return their bins. There will be details on that in our next bulletin.”
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