Fear new Calderdale waste charges and permits will increase fly-tipping

The council is introducing a trial permit scheme at two household and recycling waste centres – at Brighouse and Elland – from next Monday.

From early December residents will have to pay to take small amounts of household building waste including plasterboard, hardcore or rubble to those which accept, it at Halifax, Todmorden and Brighouse

The Council’s Conservative and Liberal Democrat groups are concerned an unwanted result might be an increase in fly-tipping.

Fly-tipping had blighted the area in recent years and the council’s ruling Labour group have pledged to clampdown on it as part of toughening up of enforcement on anti-social behaviour across all areas of Calderdale life.

Conservative group leader and Brighouse ward councillor Scott Benton said he feared both permit and charging changes risked exacerbating the fly-tipping problem.

“The cost to the council of cleaning up fly tipping has doubled over the last few years and we now seeing real problems with fly tipping in places such as Hipperholme and Northowram.

“It costs the council far more to clean up fly tipped waste than it does to dispose of waste that has been properly disposed.

“The council obviously has financial challenges and I can see why they are now looking to cut costs by introducing a permit scheme and charges for waste rubble.

“However, it is very likely that the new permit scheme and these extra charges will discourage some people from legally disposing of waste and this is inevitability going to result in an increase in fly tipping which will damage our local environment and may end up costing the council more in the long-run,” he said.

Coun James Baker, leader of the Liberal Democrat group, said he and colleagues felt there was a risk more fly-tipping might result and the council should look at making it easier for people to dispose of certain types of waste as part of that battle.

“Our concern is that if you make it more difficult to dispose of waste with new charges and permits at these centres then people will instead fly-tip items.

“These measures make it harder to dispose of items responsibly.

“Additional charges and increases requirements for permits will increase the amount of fly-tipping.

“This is a step in the wrong direction. They should Instead be looking at making it easier for householders and small traders to dispose of waste,” he said.

The disposal charges for some items being introduced from December 3 mean each bag of rubble will be charged at £2.50, with plasterboard bags at £3 per bag, with a maximum of six bags per single visit.

Bags used must each be no bigger than a traditional rubble or sand bag – around 50cm high, 35cm wide and 13cm deep – with a maximum of 25kg weight per bag.

The sort of waste that charges will apply to in terms of rubble include ceramic pipes, sinks and pedestals, toilets and bidets, bricks and breeze blocks, concrete and paving slabs, gravel, stones and sand, rubble, hardcore and tarmac and tiles and slates.

The council warns centre operatives will make the final decision on what constitutes plasterboard, hardcore and rubble and payments can only be accepted at the centres via debit or credit cards.