Potential changes to the way Derbyshire County Council’s Household Waste Recycling Centres are run are to be discussed at a forthcoming Cabinet meeting during week commending 24th July.
Members will be asked to consider approving plans to spend up to £200,000 to put automatic number plate recognition technology (ANPR) in place at each of the nine sites.
The council currently provides household waste recycling centres for Derbyshire residents only. Introducing ANPR at sites such as at the Manners Industrial Estate in Ilkeston, will help to identify anyone from outside the county trying to use the sites.
They will also be asked to give the go-ahead to a public consultation to find out what local residents think about:
- Supporting local businesses and sole traders by allowing them to dispose of commercial waste at a limited number of the recycling centres for a reasonable charge. Trade waste is currently not accepted at any of the sites.
- Reducing the number of hours or days the centres are open. This would be focussed around closing during periods when the centres are typically least busy and remaining open at the times most people prefer to use them, bringing the council into line with many other council-run recycling centres outside of Derbyshire.
- Either charging residents to dispose of tyres and asbestos at the recycling centres.
- Adopting the Government definition of DIY waste which can be disposed of at recycling centres for free. This includes construction waste produced by residents themselves while making improvements to their home; limits the amount of construction waste residents can take to the sites to up to two 50L rubble bags (or one bulky or fitted item no larger than 2,000mm by 750mm by 700mm, the approximate size of a bathtub or shower screen); and allows residents to dispose of construction waste not more than four times over a four-week period.
Councillor Carolyn Renwick, Derbyshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Infrastructure and Environment, said: “We have a responsibility to provide a place for residents to dispose of their waste and the range and scope of the service offered at our household waste recycling centres has always gone above and beyond the level we legally need to provide.
“With rising costs and increasing demands on council budgets, we need to make sure we’re spending every penny wisely and by introducing number plate recognition technology we can ensure we limit access to Derbyshire residents only which will help to reduce the cost to Derbyshire council tax-payers which help to fund the service.”
The proposal is in response to a 32% increase in the amount of waste collected at the sites since 2017/18 which has risen to 85,000 tonnes a year, costing an extra £700,000-£800,000 in annual disposal and recycling costs. This increase coincided with neighbouring councils outside Derbyshire introducing measures to restrict people living outside of their area from using their recycling centres.
Councillor Renwick added: “We’re constantly looking for ways to make the services we provide more efficient and effective and so we want to get residents’ views about a number of options for the way our household waste recycling centres are run in the future.
“This includes the potential for providing a service to traders and small businesses across the county which often generate small amounts of waste below the minimum tonnages accepted by commercial waste disposal sites – which means their costs can be disproportionately higher. If the council was to consider offering a service for businesses to pay to dispose of their waste at recycling centres, it could help to cut costs for local businesses and generate income for the council.”
If permission is granted to consult residents on reducing the number of hours or days the centres are open, residents will be asked to give a preference from a range of options aimed at limiting the amount of time the centres remain open during periods when they are typically less busy. Research into 20 other councils which publish their opening hours online found that 13 closed one or more of their recycling centres at least one day a week and more than half reduced opening hours in winter. None of these councils operated all sites for the same hours seven days a week, 52 weeks of the year as is the case in Derbyshire.
Permission is also being sought to get residents’ views about charging local people to dispose of tyres and asbestos at the recycling centres. The county council is not required to accept these items at its recycling centres but does so currently at no charge. Most neighbouring councils either charge residents for these materials or do not accept them at all. Derbyshire’s sites collect seven times more asbestos and tyres per resident compared to Derby City Council. Excluding tyres and asbestos from the materials collected could reduce running costs by up to £69,000 a year.
Councillor Renwick addeed: “We need to strike a balance between continuing to provide a quality household waste recycling centre service and keeping costs down. That’s why we want to talk to local residents and businesses about further changes we could make to the way our recycling centres are run in the future so that we can maintain a good level of service for our residents in these challenging times.”