Close loophole that puts public sector waste disposal burden on local authorities: London Councils

The government must press ahead with plans to close a legal loophole that allows schools, prisons and other public bodies to take advantage of their local authorities’ household rubbish collection service in order to benefit from free disposal, the London Councils group has demanded.

The move came after four government departments – the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Department of Health, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the National Offender Management Service – issued a joint statement last month on the application of the Controlled Waste Regulations 1992.

Schedule 2 of the 1992 Regulations sets out the types of household waste that local authorities can charge for collection. These include waste from certain non-domestic premises whose waste is classified as “household waste” by the Environment Protection Act 1990.

Educational facilities, hospitals and prisons are among these so-called Schedule 2 premises. At present, local authorities are unable to charge these bodies for disposal as well as collection.

In the joint statement the four departments “acknowledge that the Regulations are difficult to interpret in places, that certain definitions are unclear, and that there is considerable confusion among local authorities and customers over how they apply in certain circumstances."

The statement added that Defra is currently reviewing the 1992 Regulations, with a view to introducing “a simpler and more equitable system”. There is said to be considerable stakeholder support for bringing the Regulations into line with the general principle that those who produce waste should be fully responsible for the costs it creates.

Implementing this principle would require a change in legislation to allow local authorities to charge Schedule 2 premises for disposals as well as collection.

The joint statement said: “We are aware that, with budgets under pressure, facilities managers of some of the premises listed in Schedule 2 who currently use private waste contractors, may be considering using local authority waste collections in order to benefit from ‘free’ disposal.

“It is important to recognise that there is no such thing as ‘free disposal’. The waste management costs for publicly-funded bodies are ultimately paid for with public monies, regardless of who provides the service.”

The four departments called on local authorities and Schedule 2 bodies to take “a pragmatic view and seek to achieve the best overall value for money for the taxpayer”. In some cases, this may be achieved by using private waste contractors and not the local authority, they added.

Demanding government action, London Councils cited a recent Defra study that estimated it could cost waste authorities £32m extra a year to deal with waste from hospitals, schools and prisons.

The group also pointed out that local authorities have a limited amount of waste they can send to landfill each year under the Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme, and have to pay more if they need additional space.

Cllr Irwin Van Colle, chair of London Councils’ environment sub-committee, said the confusion had already added extra costs to Waste Disposal Authority budgets and would have detrimentally affected the boroughs’ recycling performance targets.

He added: “I look forward to the government making the necessary changes to the legislation as soon as possible.”