Stratford-on-Avon district council's plans to introduce charges for household green waste collections have sparked a war of words with Warwickshire county council over the impact it could have on its tonnage-based waste treatment contract.
Stratford-on-Avon district council's overview and scrutiny committee is set to meet tomorrow (January 26) to discuss the potential of introducing a £15 charge for the previously free green waste collections.
The move, which had originally been tabled as a potential £40 per year subscription before being revised downwards, is intended to help generate revenue for the council at a time of reduced local government budgets.
In a report to be discussed at tomorrow's meeting, Stratford's street scene manager Ollie Schofield, the council explains that the local authority would look to introduce charges from April 1 2011 and claims it would help to generate £240,000 towards the council's 2011/12 budget.
However, the report also acknowledges that the decision to introduce a charge could have a “negative impact” on Warwickshire's 15-year contract – signed in 2007 – with waste firm Biffa.
Under that deal, the county council must supply between 35,000 and 40,000 tonnes-a-year of organic waste to the Birmingham-based company's in-vessel composting facility at Ufton, near Leamington Spa.
Default
The county council will inevitably default on its biowaste contract. As the county council is only two years into a 15-year contract this is of significant concern
Martin Stott, head of environmental services, Warwickshire county council
In an appendix to the Stratford report, Warwickshire county council outlines its opposition to the introduction of the proposed charge – chiefly the potential for it to lead to a reduction in organic waste arisings.
Martin Stott, head of environmental services at Warwickshire county council, said: “Warwickshire county council cannot support the proposal to charge for the green garden waste scheme. It is our view that Stratford DC sees a 50% reduction in take up of the service – as forecast – then the county council will not be able to meet the annual minimum input tonnage for the IVC facility at Ufton.
“As a result, the county council will inevitably default on its biowaste contract. As the county council is only two years into a 15-year contract this is of significant concern.”
Mr Stott states that, in 2009/10, the Ufton plant processed 37, 847 tonnes of organic material, of which Stratford contributed 13, 853 tonnes – or 36% towards the overall contribution.
He explains that the forecast impact of the charge would be a 7,619 tonnes reduction in Stratford's contribution, leaving Warwickshire 4,773 tonnes short of its obligated tonnage. This, Mr Stott states, would lead to the county council having to pay Biffa £221,228 for the shortfall.
“Over-reliance”
In response, Stratford said “the figures are not in dispute” but that the crux of the issue was in the fact that Warwickshire has an “over-reliance” on Stratford to help meet its obligated tonnage.
Furthermore, the local authority said the use of a minimal tonnage contract was “unrealistic” and stressed that it had not been consulted when Warwickshire penned the deal – stating that it would have raised its concerns to the waste disposal authority if given the opportunity to do so.
An internal statement by Stratford said: “Stratford district council has been at the fore front of waste diversion across the county – highest recycling rate – for many years and feels the time has come for WCC to equalise its reliance on all its partners in this respect.”
Currently it is estimated that 50,000 households have a green bin for organic waste, with 20,000 households possessing two bins and 20 households have three. The council said this equates to £1.8 million worth of capital investment, with an additional £1 million for operational costs.
Collections are carried out by Verdant Group and Stratford said any reduction in bins collected or tonnages incurred by a charge would be addressed when the existing contract expires or is renegotiated in April 2015.
This will only cause more fly tipping and I for one am not paying any of these charges. It will also reduce the District’s recycling record. If they need to save money they need to look at their executive tier of Managers and do something about the salaries they get instead of cutting services.