Last month, we reported on the news that Norfolk County Council would be introducing a charge on DIY waste at recycling centres across Norfolk. It was an announcement that was met with different reactions. There was some concern that it might lead to an increase in fly-tipping and a recent article in the Norwich Evening News seemed to bear this out but, on closer examination of the facts, all was not as the headline seemed to make out.
Hold the Front Page
Norwich Evening News published a story with the headline: “Fly-tipped mess found at Norwich park on day of new DIY waste charges.†The headline and accompanying picture focussed on a significant amount of waste that was illegally dumped in Sloughbottom Park. The implication being that rather than pay the new charge on DIY waste someone had illegally dumped theirs. We condemn fly-tipping as an illegal and immoral act that despoils our beautiful county. It costs money to dispose of waste and the vast majority of people understand that and are willing to pay. However, we don’t believe small charge for disposing of DIY waste is the reason behind fly-tipping. Selfish and lazy individuals are the culprits and aggressive investigation and public prosecution of them is the only thing that will put an end to this abhorrent practice.
Is the Charge Being Enforced?
On the day that the charges were supposed to start across the county, we’ve heard that the Mile Cross Recycling Centre at Swanton Road wasn’t even enforcing the charges. A colleague who works at the company responsible for our website was disposing of a kitchen cabinet composed of timber and flat glass – she wasn’t charged and, as far as she could see, nobody was. We spoke to the council and they insisted that the charge was in full effect from April 1st and that a charge of £3 should have been levied for disposing of this kind of waste. The information on the County Council website is a little confusing:
“We only accept card payment for amounts over £10. For amounts under £10 we’ll accept cash, except at Mile Cross where we only accept card payments.”
Does this mean that at Mile Cross you have to have £10 worth of DIY waste in order to dispose of it? Is less than £10 worth free to dispose of? Do they take card payments for less than £10? Any of these interpretations would seem possible. When we attempted to get clarification from Norfolk County Council, we were told that it definitely wasn’t free but they couldn’t tell us for definite how to interpret this ambiguous phrasing.
What Exactly Is the Charge?
The charge came into place on the 1st of April and means that those wanting to dispose of DIY domestic waste at recycling centres will now have to pay to do so. It replaced the old scheme where you were allowed to dispose of a free 80 litre item so there is no longer a one item concession for residential DIY waste. The prices charged for the DIY waste at county recycling centres are as follows:
• Rubble: £3 per 80-litre bag.
• Unsorted/non-recyclable DIY waste: £5
• Flat glass: £5 (classed as non-recyclable at Mile Cross Recycling Centre)
• Plasterboard: £9 (£15 at Mile Cross Recycling Centre)
• Timber: £3
Hiring a skip to dispose of your DIY waste may work out at a similar cost – or even cheaper! We can dispose of pretty much any kind of waste, and DIY waste is among the most common type of waste we collect in our skips. The waste we collect is taken to our recycling centre where we separate and sort it into different set containers. Over 90% of the waste we collect is recycled.
Want to save the hassle of transporting all of your waste to the tip? We can help, call us on 01493 668118 or email us on info@wtskiphire.co.uk.
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