VC Cooke Ltd

Public concern over the closure of local CA waste disposal sites

The concerns

As a recycling and waste disposal company, we would like to try and further expand on recent letters in the local press from concerned members of the public regarding the future of waste disposal.

Like Mrs Brooke, whose letter was published in the Beccles & Bungay Journal last week, we are equally concerned that the imminent closure of local Civic Amenity waste disposal sites could lead to an increase in fly tipping and all the costs and associated environmental problems that will result. We have, in fact, been in discussion with the local authorities to consider options for provision of a public waste disposal facility after the closure. Having taken considerable time investigating the financial and procedural requirements to operate such a facility, we realised, as did other local waste disposal companies, that it would not be possible to provide the service free of charge. We now understand that a local company will be taking over the service but that it will be chargeable.

The main concern of Mrs Brooke appears to be the fact that the service will no longer be provided free and the question many people will be asking is why? Mrs Brooke made some good observations in her letter but unfortunately there are many other aspects to consider, of which she may not be aware. We hope we can clarify this and offer some explanation as follows:

It does appear from the outside that many items "dumped" by the public should have a value and that the value of such items should be able to cover the cost of disposal of the remainder of the waste. Unfortunately, although there is value in some items, it is not as straight forward as this and there are many other factors which need to be taken into consideration.

Waste disposal

Firstly, the markets for such items are extremely volatile, especially for metals, and many factors can influence the world markets. Although metal prices have been good this year, recent world events including the UK riots and unrest in Libya, have caused the markets to fall dramatically. Yes they are equally likely to rise again, but although these can offset the cost of running a site, it is a gamble which is impossible to accurately predict when budgeting. Card and paper prices have also been good in 2011 but it is predicted that these have peaked and will soon be on the way back down. Only a couple of years ago prices were so low that we had to pay to dispose of these and it is always possible that this could happen again. The plastics market has also been buoyant but this has its own downside. As plastics are based on oil, the market is high when the oil price is high, so benefits from a good plastics market are countered by high fuel costs. In addition to this, new legislation in the Far East is likely to have an adverse effect on prices. China currently takes 88% of the UK's plastic exports and recyclers are concerned that tighter rules will put downward pressure on prices.

Secondly, many other materials including glass, wood and textiles are also recyclable but still have costs involved both for processing and transportation, particularly bearing in mind our geographical location. Unfortunately many recycling outlets are some considerable distance away and, especially with light materials, the cost of transportation far exceeds the value of the material. It is also possible to recycle compostable materials such as garden waste which can be processed into compost and bio-fuel, but again companies providing this service tend to charge a not insignificant gate fee for disposal.

Thirdly, in our years of experience, many of the seemingly useful items mentioned, in particular fridges and freezers, are not in working condition by the time they are dumped. Many people wishing to dispose of such items in usable condition usually sell them second hand so by the time they arrive at sites like ours, they have normally reached the end of their life and must be disposed of. Indeed, for "hazardous" WEEE waste items, including fridges, freezers, tv's and monitors, we must provide full records to show they have been disposed of legally and correctly. If the good people of Suffolk were as affluent as those in Mayfair, the situation may be different but regrettably this is not the case, especially in the current economic climate.

Having accounted for the materials a waste site may be able to recycle, we are left with items for which the only viable disposal route is landfill. There is a move towards waste to energy with such materials being sent for incineration. Whilst this will be slightly cheaper than landfill, there is a lot of opposition to incinerators in the country and there are certainly nowhere near enough to remove the need for landfill for the foreseeable future. This leaves us with the inevitable landfill costs for disposal of household items including some textiles, mattresses, pillows, sofas, chairs etc. Many people may not be aware that the Government is dedicated to increasing the cost of landfill and the tax alone is currently £56 per tonne. This is scheduled to increase a further £8-00 per tonne every April for the foreseeable future.

Additional cost factors

So far we have explained costs for the actual disposal of the waste. There are other factors involved in providing the service which members of the public may not be aware of. As a commercial trade waste and recycling centre we are tightly regulated with regular inspections from bodies including, the Health & Safety Executive, Environment Agency and local council planning. The waste industry is one of, if not the, most dangerous industries to work in and Health and Safety is paramount. Our existing licence permits us to open Monday to Friday and Saturday morning, with the vast majority of our customers being local businesses. To expand the operation to incorporate public tipping as a replacement for local CA sites would involve:

Amendments to the site licence to allow for extended weekend opening.
Investment in Health and Safety to allow for members of the public on site.
Additional insurance premiums
Additional staffing costs for out of normal hours working
Provision of additional competent persons for the site

As you can see from this, the additional costs involved in the provision of the service are not insignificant and it is regrettable that no company in the private sector will be able to provide this free of charge. Indeed, ask yourself why are we in this position? If it were possible to make profit or even break even running such a site, then why are the councils closing the facilities to save money? It would appear that such sites have been running at a loss to provide the public with the service but that this is coming to an end.

In summary

Waste disposal is an undervalued service with many people not realising the costs involved. We hope this goes someway to explaining why there need to be charges levied. We ourselves realise that people will not appreciate having to now pay for what has previously been a free service and that this alone may tempt people towards fly-tipping. Our concern is that if this is not policed correctly, it could soon get out of control, but if it is going to cost extra money for the councils to police it, will this in fact represent any saving over running the sites in the first place? Who knows?

It seems unlikely that the Government and the local councils will U-turn and provide the facility again, particularly as we as a country are under significant pressure from the EU to reduce our landfill volumes. It is regrettable but it seems that free waste disposal is a thing of the past and that charges will be here to stay. What we would say to concerned members of the public is be more careful with what you are throwing away. Check with local waste disposal companies, especially if you have metal items for which you can receive money from licensed scrap metal dealers. If you segregate your waste, you may even be surprised to find that you may be able to earn more than you have to pay!

If you would like any further information, please contact us on 01502 712328

Submitted by Tony Atkinson on Wednesday 31st August 2011