Clampdown on incorrect waste fees for charities

By Paul Jump, Third Sector Online, 29 August 2007

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will write to every local authority chief executive to remind them not to charge charity shops for disposing of unwanted donations.

The Environment Protection Act defines the refuse produced by such institutions as household waste, which means they can be charged only for its collection. But the Association of Charity Shops estimates that more than 100 collection authorities in England – just under one in four – are or might be overcharging. In Scotland the proportion rises to one in three.

Earlier this year, five Somerset district and borough councils were found to be incorrectly charging institutions such as charities, schools and hospitals for waste disposal as well as collection.

A Defra spokeswoman said: “The majority of councils are doing things properly, but officials have found in conversations that some others might be doing a similar thing to those Somerset councils.”

She added that she didn’t think councils were deliberately overcharging. “It is probably because of staff turnover,” she said. “New people come in and don’t understand why some organisations aren’t being charged for disposal – and once they start charging, everyone does it.”

David Moir, head of policy and public affairs at the Association of Charity Shops, said the fact that the letter was addressed to chief executives was significant. “It is rare,” he said. “It means it is more than just a friendly chat and will be heard about by councillors. I don’t second-guess the chief executives of local authorities, but I would hope it will have some sort of effect.”

Moir said that at least 40 councils stopped charging after Labour MP Alan Whitehead, who is co-chair of the Associate Parliamentary Sustainable Waste Group, wrote a “very helpful” letter to all 376 English waste-collection authorities.

New users register here FREE for full access