Tighter Controls On Recycling Centres In Budget Reductions

14th February 2019

Tighter controls on what can be taken to the public recycling centres are set to save £300,000 over the next two financial years.

This proposal introduces restrictions on construction and demolition waste brought to our Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRC), limiting quantities to small amounts generated through minor DIY activities.

Highland Council handles 22% more waste per person than the Scottish average. This equates to an additional 24,000 tonnes of waste per year, costing up to £2.4M in handling and treatment costs.

There would be a restriction on vans, trailers and other large loads of waste containing construction and demolition wastes. At the same time, the Council will no longer accept vehicle tyre disposal at the sites.

Householders carrying out major renovations or repairs to properties would not be permitted to dispose of this waste at Recycling Centres. They would need to seek alternative disposal routes such as use of the Council's Bulky Uplift Service, the Council's skip hire service in Sutherland and Skye, direct delivery of this material to the Council's Transfer Stations in Wester Ross, Sutherland, Skye, Caithness and Badenoch & Strathspey, the hiring of skips from private sector providers.

Tyres no longer accepted at Recycilng centres -

Householders fitting new tyres to their own cars would need to dispose of their old tyres through their new tyre supplier. Suppliers will have to charge to transport tyres to suitable sites.

New controls at our Household Waste Recycling Centres would be introduced, and the Bulky Uplift service would be amended to allow us to accept requests for the uplift of small amounts of DIY material.

This will require a change in the current Bulky Uplift Service Policy. Issues that need to be taken into account include:

• Material that can safely be lifted manually

• Material should be non-hazardous

• Categorisation of items

It is proposed that this saving would be implemented late autumn 2019 and a revised Bulky Uplift Policy presented to EDI Committee in May 2019.

How will this relate to performance/improvement?

This would reduce the amount of waste being managed by the Council. Much of this material is recyclable, and further work would be required to identify the overall effect on the Council’s recycling performance.

With regards to the net cost of Waste Disposal per 1,000 premises, the Council’s cost is £108.34, versus a Scottish average of £101.56. These proposals would improve our performance.

To see the full range of cuts and changes in the budget go to -https://www.highland.gov.uk/meetings/meeting/4084/highland_council