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Review of Controlled Waste Regulations
Tuesday, 07 December 2010 00:00
The Government has continued with the review started by the previous government of the Controlled Waste Regulations 1992.
A consultation paper and a copy of the proposed replacement regulations can be accessed at www.info4local.gov.uk/documents/consultations/1764088
It is proposed that the 1992 regulations should be revoked in their entirety and replaced by completely new regulations with effect from 6 April 2011.
The new regulations will reallocate certain categories of waste which are presently treated as “household waste” to be treated as “commercial waste”. In general under the new regulations household waste has to be collected free of charge but where a local authority is requested to collect commercial waste it is entitled to make a charge for the collection and disposal of that waste. The effect of the new regulations as regards the parks sector will be as follows:
- there will be no change to the present regime which requires local authorities to collect waste from residential park homes without making a charge
- on a residential park therefore the only charges for waste should arise as the result of the activities of the park owner whether through their office, a shop, club or social centre or as the result of development and repairing activities, which will be treated as commercial waste, and a charge can be made for collection and disposal
- in the holiday sector waste from self-catering properties and holiday caravans (as defined) will be commercial waste
- in the holiday sector waste from leisure centres, bars, clubs and so on will be commercial waste
- waste from commercial tented camp sites will be commercial waste
In general terms the new regulations are going to increase the cost of collecting and disposing of commercial waste from parks.
It is clear from the consultation document that the Government accepts that one of the drawbacks of the current regulations is that local authorities can only charge for the collection of waste in the categories numbered 1, 3 and 5 above. They have not been entitled to charge for its disposal. When the current regulations were made in 1992 the cost of disposal was not significant but with the introduction of the “polluter pays” principle and the increasing cost of landfill (largely because of the Landfill Tax) the cost of disposal actually exceeded the cost of collection for the first time in 2008 and the difference will become more marked in the future as Landfill Tax rises.
The consultation document confirms that the understanding and interpretation of the current regulations by local authorities has been patchy. Parks should check whether they are being charged for the disposal of household waste rather than just for its collection. If they have been they should consider making a claim for a rebate going back over the last six years. Some clients have obtained worthwhile rebates particularly in cases where the local authority has sub-contracted the collection and disposal to an independent contractor.
It is not too late for parks which have paid disposal charges to consider seeking a rebate and the introduction of the new regulations is not expected to affect the entitlement to a rebate of disposal charges in appropriate cases.
The BH&HPA is pressing for the start-date of the new regime to be put back by a year to enable parks to estimate what the new charges will be and take them into account in their pitch fee review proposals for the 2012 season.