Row breaks out after waste service cuts in Dudley

From the start of April companies and traders will have to pay private firms to take away their refuse, prompting fears this will add further costs to already hard-pressed business.

Halesowen MP Alex Ballinger is demanding any changes are put on hold to give businesses and charities, sports clubs and community enterprises, who will also be affected, a chance to adjust.

Mr Ballinger said: “Businesses across Halesowen are under a lot of pressure. It is unacceptable for Dudley Council to make them find alternative providers so quickly.

“I have spoken to local charities who are worried about higher costs from new waste providers. These costs will be passed on to consumers.

“Fly tipping is a huge problem in our community, particularly around Foxcote Fields near Wollescote. I am concerned that these changes will result in an increase in fly-tipping.”

He added businesses have also been told they can keep their existing bins but only if they pay for them.

Cash-strapped Dudley Council is currently preparing a new budget for the coming financial year and has plans to save £42m to balance its books.

Trish Bradley, from Crafting for Communities in Halesowen, said: “Even though we are a small charity, the contents of our bins are classed as ‘commercial waste’.

“We have limited resources to make alternative arrangements and they aren’t easy to find. We’ve been left in limbo.

“We aren’t allowed to dispose of the waste in our household bins and we can’t afford expensive commercial waste providers.”

Councillor Damian Corfield, Dudley cabinet member for the environment, said: “The council’s existing commercial waste collection service offers waste collections and a limited number of recycling collections to businesses.

“With the introduction of new government waste collection requirements, meaning firms will need separate recycling and food waste collections, some from this March and all by March 2027, the council carried out a review of the service.

“It was estimated about 30 per cent of our existing customers would have to contract a food waste service from April 2025.”

The recycling reforms mean businesses with ten or more full-time staff will need to have separate recycling and food waste collections in place by the end of March 2025, while smaller firms will need measures in place by March 2027.

Cllr Corfield added: “For us to provide this would require significant investment, including on a specialist vehicle, which would spend long periods of time not in use due to limited demand.

“We would also have no certainty about future take-up of the service, so we took the decision to cease it. All customers have been written to.”