At the moment there’s a good chance you can pretty much take what you like to your local recycling centre for free, as long as the items in question adhere to the refuse site rules. This could change in the future though as a growing number of councils are considering charging households for the privilege of disposing of non-domestic waste such as building materials.
Surrey county council have already implemented these types of charges at a number of their recycling centres. They are charging households £4 for a bag of non-household waste and up to £50 for a full car load of loose materials.
Items in question include all of the following but this is by no means a definitive list:
- Bricks
- Breezeblocks
- Building rubble
- Soil
- Turf
- Tiles
- Plasterboard
You might have to pay to dispose of waste items
As things stand in Surrey, local residents are only allowed to deposit one bag of what is classed as chargeable waste for free at the sites in question. After this, financial penalties occur, so it’s easy to see how the cost of a tip run could quickly mount up.
You can bet other councils are sure to monitor the progress of events in Surrey to see how successful their ‘pay as you throw’ policy is. The extra revenue created by charging people for disposing of non-household waste at recycling centres will fund other council initiatives, so it could be a lucrative method of supporting existing funding.
Obviously, this creates a number of concerns for the local community from a financial point of view. What’s more, there’s a genuine threat of incidents of fly-tipping increasing if more councils start to follow a similar policy.
Check out The Facilities at your Local Recycling Centre
If you plan on taking waste materials to your local recycling centre it’s a good idea to see what type of waste they accept and if they charge you anything to dispose of specific items.
Most household waste recycling centres will accept the items listed below as standard but it’s best to check just to be sure.
Items you can recycle at most local authority sites include:
- Batteries
- Aerosol cans
- Scrap metals
- Gas bottles
- Used oil
- Fluorescent light tubes
- Plastics
- Paper and cardboard
- Garden waste
- Tyres
- Timber
- Glass
- Metal tins
- TVs, computer monitors, domestic electric appliances
- Textiles and clothing
- Fridges and freezers
Call Waste Service Solutions if you are unsure
If you have hazardous waste materials you need to dispose of make things easier and speak to a professional waste management company such as us here at Pure Clean Waste Solutions Ltd. We operate a dedicated waste management facility and you can contact us here or call us for help and advice on 0161 430 1111.
