Welcome news from Defra this week as they announced that householders no longer need to pay to get rid of DIY waste. Defra are abolishing the fees which some local authorities charge for disposing of DIY waste at household waste recycling centres (HWRCs). This will support householders to dispose of their waste in a responsible manner and encourage recycling.
The Countryside Alliance has long campaigned on this issue, arguing that local authorities should make it easier for people to dispose of their waste legally, and we welcome this change which will make it easier and cheaper to get rid of DIY waste and help tackle the blight of fly-tipping.
Around a third of local authorities still charge for household DIY waste. The changes announced will mean councils treat DIY waste the same as household waste and could save households up to £10 for an individual item, such as a sheet of plasterboard. This will make it much easier and cheaper for people making home improvements to get rid of their waste and may reduce the temptation to use waste cowboys who fly-tip rubbish.
Defra want to make it as easy as possible for people to dispose of their waste properly and that’s why they are removing the financial burden on doing the right thing with DIY trash. This not only supports their wider work to tackle fly-tipping and waste crime, but they are helping home improvers across the nation make their dream projects a reality.
These new changes complement wider action that Defra are taking to tackle fly-tipping and waste crime, which is estimated to cost the economy £924m per year in England. Earlier this year Defra announced grants totalling £775,000 to help councils roll out a range of projects to crack down on fly-tipping. Defra have consulted on reforming the waste carrier, broker, dealer regime and on introducing mandatory digital waste tracking. They 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.
The Government clarified the law in 2015 that local taxpayers should not be charged for disposing of household waste at civic amenity sites – scrapping backdoor “tip taxes”. It has also repeatedly stated that councils should not be charging for such DIY household waste disposal either. The changes announced this week clarify that DIY household waste should be treated the same as household waste.
These reforms will protect the local environment by encouraging responsible waste disposal, whilst keeping down the cost of living for households.