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Original poster

Does your local council do this?

17 replies

TheEliminator · 26/03/2023 17:17

I went to the recycling centre yesterday with some insulation foam. It was three small pieces, each about 30cm x 15cm, so it’s clear I’m not a business. Just someone who’s been doing DIY. Anyway, I went to the non-recycling bin and went to put it in and the guy told me it was chargeable waste. He then got out a card machine and charged me £4.50…

Only to turn round and throw my insulation foam in the non recycling bin!!!

I asked him if it was going to be separated and he just shrugged and basically said no it wasn’t and tough shit! My eyes were on stalks that they didn’t even have a separate bin, they’re just robbing people. I pay over £3k a year in council tax, for what exactly??

Rant over!!!

OP posts:
Timeforabiscuit · 26/03/2023 17:25

That doesn't sound right, are the charges on the council website? Is this your local council or is it a different local authority?

I know lots of place have introduced fees for chargeable waste, but it should be shown up front. At that small an amount of waste I'd just put it in the household waste.

Coxspurplepippin · 26/03/2023 17:26

No wonder fly tipping's such a scourge.

2bazookas · 26/03/2023 17:26

I think you just got scammed by a fraudster, talk to the council asap.

Original poster
TheEliminator · 26/03/2023 17:29

2bazookas · 26/03/2023 17:26

I think you just got scammed by a fraudster, talk to the council asap.

I have actually put in a complaint to the council. So if they don’t know anything about it then I guess I’ll have my answer.

OP posts:
Needcoffeeimmediatley · 26/03/2023 17:45

Our local tip (Bucks) charges for all DIY waste

Sweetladyjane · 26/03/2023 18:21

Our tip charges for things like that.

Original poster
TheEliminator · 26/03/2023 18:58

Thanks all. Whilst on the one hand, it seems like I haven’t been scammed. I still feel it a little unfair that we pay all this council tax and can’t even chuck away a small amount of DIY waste without paying more. It’s just the fact that he threw it in the same bin that I was about to throw it in and actually said that it wouldn’t be sorted out of the bin. That’s what got me. It just seems to be a way to fleece people even more 😢

OP posts:
megletthesecond · 26/03/2023 19:01

That sounds dodgy.
Around here we're charged for certain waste but it goes in a different skip.

MandyMotherOfBrian · 26/03/2023 19:03

Yes, though maybe not exactly the same as your example. Here they go by your vehicle. If you’ve been doing DIY and you have waste such as tiles or plaster or old wallpaper - and you’re in a car or van with windows in the back - no charge. Exactly the same waste and you’re in a flatbed or van with no windows in the back and you will have to pay. Because they deem you must therefore be a business/contractor (even if you’re not and it’s your only vehicle and it’s your own waste from your own DIY).

CC4712 · 26/03/2023 19:06

Why didn't you just put it in your regular waste? Even if only 1 piece per week/fortnight???

GordonShakespearedoesChristmas · 26/03/2023 19:08

Your LA's website will tell you what is chargeable.
It doesn't get sorted at the household recycling centre but will be sorted at whichever contractor it goes to.

Do people on here really think that a staff member is going to con a customer via a card machine and risk his job for £4.50?!

starfishmummy · 26/03/2023 19:15

MandyMotherOfBrian · 26/03/2023 19:03

Yes, though maybe not exactly the same as your example. Here they go by your vehicle. If you’ve been doing DIY and you have waste such as tiles or plaster or old wallpaper - and you’re in a car or van with windows in the back - no charge. Exactly the same waste and you’re in a flatbed or van with no windows in the back and you will have to pay. Because they deem you must therefore be a business/contractor (even if you’re not and it’s your only vehicle and it’s your own waste from your own DIY).

I have a van type ca due to needing space to carry mobility aids. They check that I have seats in the back or it would be classed as commercial and charged.

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 26/03/2023 19:44

This seems very unfair, especially considering that you could have just put them in a black bin bag, slung them in the landfill skip and nobody would have been any the wiser.

Re the different kinds of vehicle that are allowed, I know they have to do something to stop people abusing the household waste facilities with trade waste, but it's a far too blunt system.

Anybody could be a regular trader and deliberately buy a Transit/Transporter-sized minibus to cram with their regular waste in anonymous black bin bags, then freely take a van-load every single day; whilst a self-employed painter and decorator who has a Fiesta-based van as their only vehicle and takes an old washing machine or a broken chest of drawers (clearly not trade-related waste) from their home will be turned away.

SpecialControlGroup · 26/03/2023 19:46

Our council charge for a number of things (basically anything that could be trade waste)

Believeitornot · 26/03/2023 19:48

Council tax does not cover the full cost of running a council. Never has done.

Councils get grants from central government but these grants have been massively cut and that’s why councils charge for everything that they can get away with….

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 26/03/2023 20:07

Our council charge for a number of things (basically anything that could be trade waste)

Could people not just take anonymous black bin bags and chuck them straight in the skip, though, or do they make you open them?

To be fair, almost anything could be trade waste - you could have a house-clearance business, with people paying you to take away their/relatives' old general household junk; or just be a DIY fan and have done jobs to your own house that could just as feasibly have been done by a tradesperson whom you paid to do it.

Thankfully, our council don't seem to be nearly as militant as a lot of others you hear and read about: as long as you don't turn up in a 'commercial' vehicle (although you are allowed 12 permits a year for provably-hired vans), you can chuck away/recycle just about anything, with no limits or extra charges.

bigbluebus · 26/03/2023 20:39

Our council doesn't charge for anything - but vans or trailers need a permit and trade waste isn't allowed. We had a load of rubble after replacing a lot of fence posts in our garden. We had to make multiple trips in 2 vehicles because of the weight. Noone batted an eyelid. Long may it continue that way!

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