Purpose

To seek the Cabinet Member’s
approval to the proposed levels of charges and payments made to the
Waste Collection Authorities for 2025-26.
 

Decision

 That the Cabinet Member
approve:
 

1)     
The proposed levels to the Waste Collection Authorities
for:
 

a)     
Increasing the Commercial Waste Disposal Recharge rate for
2025-26 from   £161.23 per
tonne of commercial residual waste to £167.54.
 

b)     
Increasing the Annual Administration Fee for 2025-26 from
£1,588.00 per Waste Collection Authority (WCA) per year to
£1,643.58.
 

c)     
Increasing the Abandoned Vehicle Rate for 2025-26 in
accordance with the Agency Agreement from £54.37 per vehicle
to £56.82.
 

d)     
Increasing the Recycling Credit Rate for 2025-26 (payment)
from £67.57 per tonne of recycling retained by each WCA to
£69.60.
 

e)     
Increasing the Excess Mileage Payment for 2025-26 (payment)
from £1.31 per tonne mile and £52.18 per travel hour
(for small loads) to £1.37 and £54.53
respectively.
 

f)       
Increasing the Charge Rates used for landfill monitoring
services to external clients for 2025-26 from [not clear from
report].
 

g)     
Increase Charge for Soil Improver sold at the HWRCs for
2025-26 from £3.50 per 25 litre bag, to
£4.50.
 

2)     
The payments to the Waste Collection Authorities
for:
 

a)     
A variation to the Agreement for Provision of Household Waste
Recycling Centre Management Services and the Supply of Goods with H
W Martin Waste Limited, pursuant to recommendation 10.1 g), in
order to share the additional revenue arising from the increase
between the Council and Contractor in the proportion of 50% to the
Council and 50% to the Contractor.
 

b)     
The application of the principles detailed above to the
calculation of charges for 2026-27. A further report will be
presented to the Cabinet Member in 2027-28.
 

Reasons for the decision

1)     
WCAs have a legal obligation under the Environment Protection
Act 1990 to make arrangements for the collection of commercial
waste from commercial properties when requested. The WDA has a
legal obligation to manage Local Authority Collected Waste
presented by the WCA. The WDA has a legal obligation to finance
household waste disposal, not commercial waste, therefore, a charge
is applied. Recommendation 10.1 a) and 10.1 b) are made to ensure
the Council is able to recover its full additional costs of
managing commercial waste whilst remaining compliant with Section
52 (9) of the Environment Protection Act 1990.
 

2)     
The WCAs have a legal obligation under the Refuse Disposal
(Amenity) Act 1978 to collect abandoned vehicles, with the payment
in accordance with Agency Agreement. This agreement enables the
WCAs to provide all aspects of inspection, collection and disposal
of abandoned vehicles and to share appropriate costs with the
Council. Recommendation 10.1 c) is made in accordance with the
Agency Agreement.
 

3)     
The WDA has a legal obligation under the Environment
Protection Act 1990 to make payment to WCAs for the household waste
they retain and recycle. Recommendation 10.1 d) is made because the
charge including annual indexation is set out in the
Act.
 

4)     
The WDA has a legal obligation under the Environment
Protection Act 1990 to make a reasonable contribution to WCAs for
expenditure reasonably incurred in delivering waste to the
designated delivery point. Recommendation 10.1 e) the current
methodology reflects established best practice and case law
regarding the reasonable level of compensation payable by the WDA
to WCAs and therefore mitigates the risk of legal change by the
WCAs.
 

5)     
The Council provides closed landfill monitoring services
under contract to a small number of external parties. Charges were
reviewed in 2022 and the hours budgeted for the tasks have been
benchmarked. Recommendation 10.1 f) is made to maintain consistency
with corporate labour recharge principles which are compliant with
restrictions on charging for discretionary services set out in the
Local Government Act 2003 and the Localism Act 2011.
 

6)     
Recommendation 10.1 g) is made to ensure the sale of goods
from the Councils HWRCs by H W Martin Waste Limited is reflective
of market value and does not artificially distort local markets for
the provision of the same. This recommendation will also reduce the
incidents of bulk buying at below market rates thereby increasing
the availability of soil improver for more residents.
 

7)     
Recommendation 10.2 a) is necessary to enable the Council to
offset its costs for the operation of HWRCs.
 

8)     
Recommendation 10.2 b) is made to enable the application of
the principles set out in this report for two financial years to
enable better financial planning and efficiency in decision
making. 

Alternative options considered

Option 1: Do
Nothing - Maintain current charges. Maintaining current charges
referred to in recommendations 10.1 a) and 10.1 b) would result in
the Council not covering handling and disposal costs creating a net
budget pressure of £0.880m.
 

a)     
Maintaining the current charges referred to in recommendation
10.1 d) is not possible as the 3% annual rise is set by legislation
enacted by the UK Government.
 

b)     
Maintaining current charges referred to in recommendation
10.1 c) and 10.1 e) would result in increased costs being met by
the District and Borough Councils not being fully reimbursed for
costs incurred at the direction of the Council.
 

c)     
Changing this arrangement would break an established
calculation principle set between WCAs and the WDA and potentially
cause both reputational and financial risks.
 

d)     
Maintaining current charges referred to in recommendation
10.1 f) would result in the Council not being adequately reimbursed
for work done on behalf of external organisations.
 

e)     
Maintaining the current charges referred to in recommendation
10.1 g) would not address the current shortages seen when bulk
buying takes place and would also not provide an income to the
Council. The current prices for soil improvement are substantially
below market rate. The option of “Do Nothing” is not
recommended.
 
Option 2 -
Continue to use the same methodology as in previous years with
regard to the Commercial Waste Recharge (recommendation 10.1 a) -
Using the same methodology as in previous years would result in the
Council charging the WCAs amounts beyond those permitted within
Section 52 (9) of the Environment Protection Act 1990 where it
states, “sums as are needed to reimburse the waste disposal
authority the reasonable cost of making
arrangements”.  This option is not
recommended.