Norfolk recycling centre waste cost changes spark anger

Norfolk County Council is changing how much it charges businesses to get rid of rubbish such as garden waste, rubble, scrap metal, plasterboard and timber at the seven recycling centres which accept it.

And companies offering services such as gardening, landscaping and house clearances, said they could go under - or have to pass extra costs on to customers.

While the council charges for the disposal of such trade waste, at the moment it is calculated per bag.

But from November it will be done according to the size of vehicles and how full they are.

Small traders, who already have to pay for licences to be permitted to dispose of the waste, say that will be more expensive than the current system.

Norwich South Recycling Centre (Image: Norfolk County Council)

They say they are likely to have to pay £323 to get rid of a mixed load in a large van.

It will coincide with a controversial new system where people will have to book timed slots to get rid of waste at the county's recycling centres.

Centres are also being shut on Wednesdays to save Conservative-controlled County Hall money.

A booking system is due to be introduced at Norfolk tips (Image: Sonya Duncan)

Norfolk businesses warned they could go under.

LS Landscapes, Gardens and Waste Removal posted on Facebook: "We don’t want to raise our prices, especially with how the UK economy currently is, and, of course, cost of living.

"But unfortunately it’s between two choices. Raise our prices or close our doors

"So we’re going to test it for a month or two and see how well we can do. But please be aware prices will be raised in order to keep running.

"And if it’s not manageable then, unfortunately, it will be time to close up shop."

A Norfolk County Council spokeswoman said: "We are not changing our prices significantly, rather changing the way we charge."

She said the changes were a "more accurate way of assessing loads" and vehicles up to 50pc full would get a discount.

She said: "The prices are based on actual costs for processing the waste on site, haulage and disposal of materials and are similar to those charged through Suffolk’s trade waste service.

"The move to charging by vehicle size aims to make sure that disposal costs of trade waste are fully covered in Norfolk.

"This is expected to save the county council £200,000 in waste disposal costs, which are not being covered by the current bag system of charging for trade waste."

She said private companies also offer trade waste disposal services.

TURNED AWAY

The controversy comes at a time when small businesses have been turned away from council recycling centres.

Liberal Democrat councillor Dan Roper raised the issue at this week's meeting of Norfolk County Council.

Dan Roper (Image: Dan Roper)

He said one Norwich trader was told they would have to travel to Thetford because waste could not be accepted at the city's tips.

Council bosses said they had been forced to "turn off" trade waste services, because so much waste was being taken to tips.

A spokeswoman said: "Our recycling centre service has seen particularly high demand over recent weeks as a result of changes in DIY waste legislation in January, alongside a wet start to the year producing extra green garden waste, mean that tonnage has increased by around 12.5pc.

"Alongside this there have been some logistical issues to manage, which included a breakdown of compacting equipment and a shortage of drivers over the holiday period.

"Unfortunately, to protect the service for household customers, we have had to turn off the trade waste service for short periods at all of our sites that offer this service.

"Providing a trade waste service at recycling centres is discretionary and not all councils do it.

"Household waste is our priority at the recycling centres, but we do wish to offer a service to traders alongside this and we are very sorry for the inconvenience this disruption has caused."

The council said sites were now accepting trade waste again, except Caister, which is "still struggling with capacity issues".