New waste charges coming into force in Plymouth
The changes at Chelson Meadow will begin at the end of January
Plans to introduce charges for some waste at Chelson Meadow recycling centre in Plymouth are to come into force as planned at the end of January.
Conservatives on the Labour-controlled city council asked for a rethink, arguing the policy would penalise people carrying out home improvements and lead to an increase in fly-tipping. They said the council’s focus should be on education and enforcement.
But Labour Cabinet member Sue Dann said it was a difficult decision set against unprecedented financial challenges.
She said the charges would bring the council into line with its neighbours and the aim was to change behaviour to reduce waste, encourage reuse and recycling, as well as raise money.
Cllr Dann said work was already going on to improve enforcement and education to deter fly-tipping.
The city council has confirmed the charges for soil, rubble, plasterboard and asbestos will come into force on Tuesday, January 26, at the Chelson Meadow centre, which has remained open for essential visits during the current lockdown.
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.
The materials classed as soil or rubble are: bricks, breeze blocks, concrete, drainage pipes (ceramic/porcelain), gravel, hardcore, paving slabs, rubble, sand, sanitary ware (ceramic/porcelain toilets, bidets, sinks, shower trays, pipes, etc), soil, slates/slabs, stones, tarmac, tiles (ceramic, porcelain, floor, roof, wall) and turf.
Senior Conservatives called in the charging decision for a review at a meeting just before Christmas. But members of the committee, which had a Labour majority, voted to support the decision to introduce charges.
Conservatives claimed the decision was “ill-thought-out”, and said residents already paid for the service through the council tax. They questioned whether it would set a precedent for other currently free services to be charged for.
But Cllr Dann, the Labour-run council’s Cabinet member for environment and street scene, said if it went back on the decision, the city would be the only council in the South West not to charge households to dispose of construction waste materials.
She said the proposals struck the right balance between raising money and encouraging behaviour that was better for the environment, alongside education and enforcement to deter fly-tipping.