The charge has been brought in due to pressure from government spending cuts and an increased demand for essential services, according to the council.
Charges were considered as part of a package of measures in a bid to save £1.8 million for the running of the service in late 2015 (see letsrecycle.com story). Other measures to be implemented include changes to opening hours and closure of sites at quieter periods.
From next month the authority will charge for waste such as tyres from cars and motorcycles, and DIY waste including plasterboard, breeze blocks, bricks, rubble, soil, stones, turf, ceramic bathroom fittings and tiles.
Allowance
Residents will be given a free daily allowance of waste from home repairs of one bag or one sheet of plasterboard, however, anything above this threshold will be subject to the following charges:
- £5 per tyre or part tyre.
- £4 per bag or part bag chargeable waste; or per item or per sheet of plasterboard.
- If the materials are loose, a charge of £50 will apply per car load.
Surrey county council has also stipulated that bags presented by residents should be no bigger than 50cm x 77cm and sheets of plasterboard no bigger than 120cm x 240cm. Bicycle tyres will be accepted without a charge.
The charges will apply at sites in Epsom, Shepperton, Earlswood, Chertsey, Woking, Witley, Leatherhead, Guildford and Camberley.
Transport
Residents bringing material to sites can only do so in a car, whilst anyone seeking to dispose of waste via a van must take it to the council’s waste transfer stations at either Guildford, Epsom or Leatherhead – to be weighed and charged for.
Surrey county council confirmed payment will need to be made before residents are given access to the containers.
Surrey county council has 15 HWRCs sites, all of which are run by Suez Surrey. The sites handle close to 144,000 tonnes of material per year, the council said.
Has Surrey managed to divert a lot of this now to reuse schemes? I would have thought that there was a great propensity for this in Surrey. How many other other Councils already do this? London Borough of Ealing has been doing this for some time.
And Surrey is the home of http://www.brokenbog.com! Why have a matching suite? There are much more interesting options out there on Pinterest. Have a look!