Staffordshire County Council urged to consider waste disposal charge 'amnesty'
Councillors in Staffordshire are being urged to consider a three-month “amnesty” on trade waste disposal charges at its recycling centres in a bid to discourage illegal dumping.
Cannock Chase Council is making the request – and considering asking businesses for their thoughts on costs and opening hours at the waste disposal sites – following fly-tipping incidents in the district before and during the coronavirus pandemic.
Christine Martin, cabinet member for health and wellbeing at Cannock Chase Council, said: “This will encourage the use of the sites and discourage illegal fly-tipping.
“The total number of fly tipping incidents in the district last year was 371. Up to June this year the total was 299.
“Between April and June last year there were 90 incidents of fly tipping – in April to June there were 186 and that is a big difference. It is a danger to public health.”
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Councillor Alan Pearson said: "There is also a financial impact to this – the fly tipping costs us money to remove and I expect it costs us more to remove it than it costs to dispose of it.
“I believe we ought to stop this charging at the tip right now."
Outrageous
But Councillor Justin Johnson said: “This could be open to abuse from people outside the area. We need to make sure people coming to dispose of waste are from this area. I support it but the way it is written I think is going to lead to abuse.”
Opposition group leader Councillor Olivia Lyons said that people were unable to use the recycling centres for some time between April and June this year because they were closed.
But she added: “I agree fly tipping is outrageous and a health hazard. It’s so damaging to the local environment.”
Staffordshire County Council’s 14 recycling centres were closed for several weeks from March until May as part of the national lockdown measures to reduce the spread of coronavirus.
During this time the authority supported the county’s district and borough councils in tackling flytipping in their areas.
Areas of Cannock Chase affected by fly tipping in recent months included the Washbrook Lane area of Norton Canes
Mike Edmonds, head of environment and healthy lifestyles at Cannock Chase Council, told a meeting in April: “The county council offered to provide some assistance with tackling fly tipping. They are turning things round fairly quickly.
“The county council turned the Washbrook Lane and Newlands Lane areas round reasonably quickly – within a couple of hours. We are working with them to tackle these issues when we are aware of them.”
