Information about Management of Household Waste from properties in the ARCH area
There have been so many recent incidents of litter caused by poor management of household wastes that we
have decided to publish the rules relating to houses in multiple occupation and to provide some guidance on
the practical side of managing household waste that applies to everyone.
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
Many houses occupied by students are subject to an HMO Licence (House in Multiple Occupation) or an
Additional Licence issued by the Housing Services Department of B&NES. Detailed information is available
from Housing Services via: www.bathnes.gov.uk/housing
Contact details are: T: 01225 396444; E: hmo_licensing@bathnes.gov.uk
Information specifically concerning HMOs is available at: www.bathnes.gov.uk/hmos
A Public Register of licensed HMOs is available at: www.bathnes.gov.uk/hmopublic
List of Licenced Houses of Multiple Occupancy in widcombewest Area
STREET NAME
House Numbers
Alexandra Road
4, 31, 47, 48
Alton Place
1, 3, 5, 6
Calton Gardens
25, 43, 44, 52
Calton Walk
7, 11, 12, 15, 22, 23, 27, 28, 35, 37
Holloway
6, 9, 11, 21, 23, 25, 27, 35, 39, 41, 43, 45, 46, 47
St Mark’s Road
32
St Mary’s Buildings
1
Wells Road
12, 14, 16, 36-40, 79, 81, 83, 87, 89, 93, 94, 98, 99, 105, 107,
120, 121, 129
Many other properties are occupied by tenants but are not subject to HMO licensing
Compiled from the B&NES website on 13 Nov 2015
DOCUMENTS ISSUED BY B&NES
There are two important documents issued by B&NES to occupants of HMOs:
1. The HMO Licence, issued under section 64 of the Housing Act, 2004; and
2. ‘Conditions for recycling, rubbish and gardens’ an illustrated guide on compliance with HMO licensing
conditions
1. The HMO Licence Conditions regarding Waste and Recycling are:
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Sufficient containers must be provided for household recycling and rubbish within the limit of
accommodation and outside in an appropriate area.
All reasonable steps must be taken to ensure any gardens and yards belonging to the licenced property
are maintained in a reasonable condition and free from litter.
At the start of all new tenancies all occupants must be made aware of the ‘B&NES Undertaking of
Good Practice’. A copy must be given to each occupant and the ‘recycling and rubbish collection
notice’ must be displayed in the property.
Appendix 2 of the Licence sets out an ‘Undertaking of Good Practice’ to which tenants must agree to comply.
It states that:
It is a condition of the HMO Licence that this document is provided to all occupants. This document is intended
to ensure that occupants are aware of their responsibilities relating to waste management, fire safety and antisocial behaviour.
Regarding Waste and Recycling: occupants have a responsibility to:
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Co-operate with the provisions in place for the storage and collection of recycling and rubbish and to
make sure that it is separated correctly;
To put out recycling and rubbish for collection using the correct containers by 7 am on the collection
day, as late as possible after 8 pm the previous evening at the front edge of the property;
To bring containers back in as soon as possible after emptying.
It is clearly stated that:
Occupants can be fined for leaving their recycling and rubbish out on the highway at the wrong time or place
and that Landlords have a duty to inform occupants when and how recycling and rubbish collections are made.
In addition there is a requirement that: the Landlord agrees to offer occupiers of the immediately neighbouring
properties a contact telephone number, address or e-mail address to report any problems ……… and to make
reasonable arrangements for the storage and disposal of refuse.
2.
The guidance on compliance with HMO licensing conditions ‘Conditions for recycling, rubbish and
gardens’ provides occupants with examples of what is and what is not acceptable regarding waste
containers, storage conditions and the state in which property and gardens should be kept.
There is specific guidance about ‘end of term’ waste arrangements, when tenancies are ended and when
houses are cleared out, resulting in large volumes of unwanted materials being left out for collection.
Comment - End of tenancy issues
A great deal of nuisance is caused by tenants who simply leave Bath, particularly at the end of the academic
year, and abandon large quantities of waste items, particularly surplus foodstuffs when they clear out the
fridge and the larder. Also, bulky items, like broken furniture which is not picked up by the normal collection
services, can be left littering the area.
Such non-compliance with disposal rules is often repeated by property cleaning contractors, who may clear a
house on a Friday or even over a weekend, then leave all the rubbish (usually not segregated) outside the
property until the next collection day of Friday.
PRACTICAL GUIDANCE FOR ALL HOUSEHOLDERS
Clear guidance on recycling and waste disposal is
provided in the leaflet ‘Recycle more, 2016’ issued by
B&NES which may be viewed online or picked up at
Council Connect in Manvers Street. Property Agents or
Student Union reps may have copies they can give you.
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If you are not able to put your recycling/rubbish out
at the correct time on Friday morning, see if your
neighbours can help you by putting it out with theirs.
Mark your bins with your house number otherwise
the collection teams may well leave them at the
wrong house and you’ll lose them.
Do NOT put any household rubbish in or alongside
public litter bins; this is viewed as ‘fly-tipping’ by the
B&NES enforcement officers and may result in a fine.
The collection teams will NOT take away materials
not presented correctly or any items that have
‘escaped’ from bags/containers – this litter remains YOUR responsibility and you must clear it up.
Rubbish in plastic bags can be handled roughly by the collection teams, so don’t overfill bags or
use flimsy bags that will readily split and cause litter.
Badgers, foxes, gulls, cats and dogs are known to scavenge for food in this part of Bath;
accordingly, wastes that could be attractive to them must be kept out of their reach or must be
kept in containers that withstand attack. The law holds the producer of any waste responsible for
its safe containment up to the point of collection – if you don’t have suitable waste bins or
storage space you should ask your landlord/agent to provide them.
Gardening Wastes (such as grass, weeds, leaves, small twigs, but NO large branches, soil or
rubble) are collected every TWO weeks from outside your property in pre-paid large paper sacks
obtainable from B&NES.
Other ‘disposal’ options are:
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Take large items or items not collected at your house to a Recycle Centre such as Midland Road
(off the Upper Bristol Road by Argos) or Pixash Lane in Saltford or Wheelers Hill in Midsomer
Norton. You will need a free Recycling Centre Resident’s Permit to use these centres; for details
and online application form visit www.bathnes.gov.uk/residentpermit, or take your Discovery
Card with you to show that you are a B&NES resident.
Take clean clothes and quality saleable items to any of the many charity shops; most books are
gratefully accepted at the Oxfam shop.
Request the Council to make a special collection for large, bulky items, such as a fridge or
mattress, from your house; there will be a fee for this.
RULES FOR B&NES RECYCLING COLLECTIONS ON FRIDAYS IN 2016
Recycling green box
What is collected?
Food & drinks cans and aerosols; please rinse cans, please remove lids from aerosols.
Glass bottles and jars; please rinse.
Mixed papers: newspapers, magazines, catalogues, junk mail, white envelopes,
shredded paper (max two carrier bags)
Plastic packaging including pots, tubs, trays and bottles; please rinse and squash.
Clean aluminium foil; please squash.
Batteries, small electricals, ink cartridges, mobile phones, spectacles, clothes and
textiles; please bag these items separately and place by your green box.
No broken glass, tumblers, pyrex, window glass.
No black plastic food trays, plastic bags, polystyrene, plant pots, plastic toys.
No plastic used to contain medicines or garden chemicals.
No stuffed items e.g. duvets, cushions, pillows.
Food recycling bin
What is collected?
Please put in a carrier bag (NOT black bin bag) or wrap in newspaper
or use a compostable bag with this logo
Meat and fish; raw or cooked, including bones.
Fruit and vegetables; raw or cooked.
All dairy products.
Bread, cakes and pastries.
Rice, pasta and beans.
Uneaten food; from your plates and dishes.
Tea bags and coffee grounds.
No Liquids e.g. cooking oil, milk, drinks.
No packaging of any sort.
Blue bag for cardboard
What is collected?
Cardboard: including cereal boxes, toothpaste boxes, ready meal sleeves, egg boxes,
toilet roll tubes and greetings cards; please remove sticky tape from cardboard boxes.
Drinks cartons (Tetra-Paks); please wash and squash food drinks cartons.
Brown paper including envelopes.
Nothing over 45cm please; please flatten or cut cardboard to fit in the bag.
No polystyrene or plastics
Find out more - To order any free recycling container, report a missed
collection or for more information see the B&NES website or contact Council Connect.
Tel: 01225 394041 or Text SMS 07797 806545
www.bathnes.gov.uk/wasteservices or councilconnect@bathnes.gov.uk