A COUNCILLOR who has been campaigning for more than five years to get re3 to scrap its DIY waste charges says he is encouraged by the announcement by the government that the fees should be scrapped.
Earlier this month, the government clarified laws made in 2015, that taxpayers should not be charged for disposing of household waste at civic amenity sites – scrapping backdoor “tip taxes”. In that time, it has repeatedly stated that councils should not be charging for such DIY household waste disposal either.
However, as Wokingham Today reported back in 2016 and 2017, re3 stood by its charging regime, despite pressure from all sides of the council chamber to drop it.
The new announcement is intended to come into force later this year, and clarifies what had been said by opponents to re3’s charges: DIY household waste should be treated the same as household waste.
Environment Minister Rebecca Pow said the decision came following “overwhelming public support”, would make it easier for householders to dispose of their waste in a responsible manner and encourage recycling.
“We want to make it as easy as possible for people to dispose of their waste properly and that’s why we are removing the financial burden on doing the right thing with DIY trash,” she said.
“This not only supports our wider work to tackle fly-tipping and waste crime, but we are helping home improvers across the nation make their dream projects a reality.”
It is also hoped that the clarification of the law will help reduce fly-tipping and waste crime, thought to cost nearly £1 billion every year.
“Earlier this year we announced grants totalling £775,000 to help councils roll out a range of projects to crack down on fly-tipping,” Ms Pow said. “We have consulted on reforming the waste carrier, broker, dealer regime and on introducing mandatory digital waste tracking, and we are also developing a fly-tipping toolkit with National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group to help spread best practice among local authorities on tackling the issue.”
Re3, which runs the recycling centres at Longshot Lane in Bracknell and Smallmead Road in Reading, is sticking to the charges, at least for now.
“The re3 Councils – Bracknell Forest, Reading, and Wokingham Boroughs, have taken note of the recent announcement by the Environment Minister regarding charges for the disposal of DIY waste by householders at Recycling Centres,” a spokesperson said.
“We understand that new legislation will be introduced this year, allowing for free disposal of DIY waste up to two 50L rubble bags, or one bulky or fitted item no larger than the approximate size of a bathtub, at a frequency of four visits per household over a four-week period.
“While we await the legislative changes, we will assess their impact on the sites’ operation, make all necessary arrangements, and provide further communications to householders in due course.
“For now, householders who wish to deposit their DIY waste at the re3 Recycling Centres should continue to pay the agreed charge as usual.
“The charges are non-profit making and are applied on the principle that residents who will benefit from improvements, alterations or repairs on their homes, should pay for the waste they create.”
But Cllr Clive Jones, then a Lib Dem backbencher in the council chamber, and now the executive member for business and economic development at Wokingham Borough Council, feels vindicated.
“I welcome this news,” he said. “It will be good for residents doing DIY.
“It could have an impact on Wokingham Borough Council’s finances, but nothing like the government having starved councils of cash, and continuing to make us the least funded unitary authority.
“Hopefully they will be able to smooth over any financial cracks.”
Cllr Jones added that he stood by his comments from 2016 and 2017, when he was pushing for re3 to follow the government’s interpretation of the laws rather than its own version.
“I said then it was incredibly clear cut,” he added. “There were a number of councils trying not to charge residents, but I think nearly all of them did end up setting a fee.”
