Plans to introduce more fees to use tidy tips in Central Bedfordshire scrapped

Proposals to introduce permits to dump mattresses, carpets and certain DIY materials at local household waste recycling centres were considered because of rising disposal costs.

A motion from Conservative Cranfield and Marston Moretaine councillor Sue Clark was backed at a Central Bedfordshire Council meeting.

It read: “This council recognises that applying fees and restrictions to DIY waste at the tidy tips will discourage our residents from using these to dispose of such items appropriately.”

Councillor Clark referred to a Conservative government announcement in June 2023 to abolish fees that some local authorities charge for disposing of waste at tidy tips.

“This would support wider work to tackle fly-tipping and waste crime, which nationally costs the country £924m a year,” she said.

“It surprised me that for the second time running this council wants to move in the opposite direction by imposing tip taxes and restrictions on material which can be disposed of, and by introducing a booking system to make it less convenient to go there.

“Although there’s been a hasty U-turn, what a badly thought through set of principles they were. A restriction of two tins of paint a year is madness. Is a ten litre tin classed the same as one litre?

“How would it be policed? Are you searching every vehicle for a tin of gloss? On top of that there are the proposals to charge, which I’m glad have been dropped.

“I can only see this leading to more fly-tipping and discouraging our residents from using tidy tips to dispose of their waste appropriately.”

Independent Apsley and Woburn councillor John Baker responded: “You’re saying if we do anything at all to manage tips, residents will fly-tip. The fee stuff isn’t popular. But the concept of managing the use of the tip doesn’t seem unreasonable to me.”

Independent Biggleswade West councillor Hayley Whitaker warned household rubbish might go into general waste instead or be fly-tipped.

“We need to work with our residents and ensure they’re generating less waste,” she suggested.

Labour Arlesey and Fairfield councillor Nick Andrews explained the executive “listened to what was said at scrutiny, come back with a paper more or less in line with the general feeling of the sustainable communities committee and it shows the council actually working”.

Independent Flitwick councillor Heather Townsend agreed, saying: “Booking systems were used during Covid and nobody has managed to cite evidence that fly-tipping went up then.

“We need to go with what the data says. We know charging is unpopular. This is a chance to make the cost efficiencies we’ve been told we need to.”

Executive member for sustainability and climate resilience and Independent Potton councillor Tracey Wye described it as “an officer recommendation and not my idea”, saying: “We ask our officers to do their best to manage the business for us.

“There was no U-turn because it was never agreed. This is a great example of what happens when we behave like grown-ups, when we debate an issue properly.

“I hear the nervousness about how it’s going to work. I’ve put that to them and they’re confident they can deliver on the operational side of the policy decision we make.”