Appendix C
HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL
WASTE MANAGEMENT CABINET PANEL
THURSDAY 1 MARCH 2012 AT 2.00 PM
COUNCIL FOR THE FUTURE – THE RIGHT LEVEL OF PUBLICLY FINANCED
SERVICES (HOUSEHOLD WASTE RECYCLING CENTRES)
Commercial Waste Disposal and Recycling at Hertfordshire HWRC
Purpose of Report
To advise Members of the legal, financial and operational issues associated
with accepting commercial waste at the County Council’s Household Waste
Recycling Centres.
Background
The district and borough councils of Hertfordshire are required by section 45
of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to provide both a household waste
and an ‘on request’ commercial waste collection service. The County Council
has a responsibility to dispose of the waste collected as a result but recharges
the cost of the disposal of commercial waste. This cost, by statute, must be no
greater than that which it pays its disposal contractor plus a small
administration fee. The district and borough councils can charge what they
wish for their commercial waste collection service.
The district and borough councils are also responsible for the clearance of
litter and fly tipped waste. The County Council arranges for, and pays for, the
disposal of all such waste except that which is in such quantity and of such
nature that it is clearly from commercial sources and could not reasonably be
classified as litter e.g. a significant quantity of demolition waste, a load of tyres
or bonded asbestos. There are no figures from which the actual level of fly
tipping in the County can be ascertained as the majority is disposed of with
street cleansing as ‘litter’ but anecdotal evidence from the district and borough
councils suggests that it is not a particular problem. National studies of fly
tipping suggest that a significant proportion is of household type material,
despite HWRC being available free of charge. This is probably the result of
householders paying others to dispose of their waste as cheaply as possible
and those others choosing the cheapest, albeit illegal, disposal method. In
addition, some traders offering ‘man in a van’ services appear unaware of, or
are reluctant to comply with, the legislation requiring them to register as waste
carriers, to pay for such registration, to be accountable, to complete the
necessary transfer notes, to use suitably licensed disposal facilities and to pay
the market rate for disposal. Recent legislation requires householders to
check the bona fides of all persons to whom they transfer waste but this
appears also to be not widely known or is ignored. Enforcement action
against those responsible for fly tipping is the responsibility of the district and
borough councils and the Environment Agency.
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Section 51 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 requires the County
Council to provide places where residents can deposit their household waste
free of charge. In order to fulfil this requirement Hertfordshire County Council
currently provides seventeen household waste recycling centres across the
County where residents can both deliver their household waste and where
they can sort it into various categories for either recycling or disposal. The
County Council is not required to accept nor dispose directly of waste from
trade, business or commercial activities and doesn’t currently do so.
The fact that the County Council does not accept commercial waste at its
HWRC is advertised widely but traders still try to access sites either blatantly,
by lying about the origin of the waste, or by stealth using vehicles which are
not associated with business. There is little doubt that a certain amount of
commercial waste is deposited at the HWRCs but, despite that, the latest
(2011) figures show that Hertfordshire has the lowest, per capita, generation
of household waste in the country at its HWRCs.
Perceived Demand for Commercial Waste Disposal Facilities
The quantity of commercial waste which is currently generated by small and
medium enterprises in Hertfordshire is not known, although disposal of the
majority of that which is generated seems to be catered for by district and
borough council collections, private contractor collections and disposal at
commercial sites.
The County Council allows its transfer station at Waterdale, near Garston to
be used for the disposal of commercial waste. The transfer station contractor
charges a competitive rate, disposes of the waste at its own disposal facilities
and pays the County Council a royalty. The cost is based on the actual weight
of waste being disposed but with a minimum charge of that for half a tonne.
The total weight of commercial waste disposed of in this way in 2010/11 was
7,024 tonnes but this is projected to increase to 21,000 tonnes in 2011/12.
There are two major customers for the service but also several small traders
carrying out house clearances and the like. The scheme is clearly successful
in attracting waste from the commercial sector and gives the County Council
an income of some £26,000 per annum.
There are no statistics which could inform the level of take up of commercial
waste disposal services at HWRC; there are only comments from trade
organisations which imply that such facilities are needed. What these claim to
seek is local disposal at ‘reasonable cost’ which suggests that those
promoting such a scheme believe that local authorities have significantly lower
disposal costs than the private sector or are prepared to subsidise the service.
It may be true that local authorities in general have a lower per tonne disposal
cost for residual waste but only marginally so and only because they can offer
significant and guaranteed quantities to the market. It is not true of the spot
market where those offering disposal facilities adjust their prices according to
supply and demand.
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Commercial Waste Acceptance at HWRCs
In deciding whether to accept, and dispose of, commercial waste at its
HWRCs the County Council would have to take a number of factors into
consideration:
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site size, including:
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vehicle parking/unloading capacity
available container capacity
space for a weighbridge and weighbridge office (if required)
welfare facilities for additional staff
traffic and segregation (sizes and types of vehicle, priority)
legislation including:
 environmental permit (including acceptance, or otherwise, of hazardous
wastes)
 weighbridge trading standards compliance
 duty of care waste transfer notes
 accounting, VAT etc
 town planning (including additional vehicle movements)
 reporting on Waste DataFlow

security including:
 handling of payments by cash, credit card or account
 protection of staff
 cheating/fraud by traders and site staff

variation to contracts including:
 existing site operations contract
 existing container haulage contract
 existing disposal contracts (capacity)

restricting the types of waste to be accepted

catchment
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the costs of all the above.
Site Size
The acceptance of commercial waste at HWRC would only be feasible at
those sites which have sufficient capacity to accommodate the expected level
of use in terms of access, parking, unloading, container void and, if required, a
weighbridge and weighbridge office. While, in principle, there would be no
problem with both householders and traders queuing together to access a site
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it would probably be necessary to ensure that householders were not
inconvenienced by queuing any longer than at present. It would also be
preferable for there to be two separate areas where waste could be deposited.
This would ensure that commercial waste is segregated from household
waste and the recycling rates reported separately. It would also allow the
County Council to ascertain its costs accurately and thus fix an appropriate
charge for the service.
Separate areas would require dedicated parking spaces and additional
containers to avoid closures although the movement of containers between
areas could be optimised to ensure that supply meets demand.
If a fair and accurate charge were to be made for the acceptance and disposal
of commercial waste it would be preferable to weigh all of the incoming
material. This would require the provision of a weighbridge, a weighbridge
office, weighbridge staff and some method of accepting payment. It would
also require honesty and integrity on the part of staff to ensure that any
payment system is not abused, although technology such as automatic
number plate recognition could help in this respect.
Within the current HWRC portfolio the only site which is of sufficient size and
layout to accommodate weighbridges, separate lanes for householders and
commercial customers and separate containers for each material is that at
Waterdale, adjacent to the waste transfer station.
All other sites are too small or too restricted in layout to accommodate the
same infrastructure and could only be used for the disposal of commercial
waste if either a set, or no, charge were made for all material and if the types
of waste accepted were limited. In the absence of weighbridges there would
be a need for separate containers for household and commercial material as
the quantities of each have to be reported separately on the Government’s
Waste DataFlow system.
Legislation
While there is no legislation which specifically prevents the acceptance of
commercial waste at HWRC, there are a number of regulations with which the
County Council would have to comply:
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All those who deliver commercial waste would have to be registered with
the Environment Agency as waste carriers.
All loads of waste would have to be accompanied by a Waste Transfer
Note declaring the type and quantity of waste requiring disposal. These,
and any weighbridge records, would have to be stored for a minimum of
six years from issue.
Waste Dataflow returns require the quantities of household and
commercial wastes accepted and disposed of be identified separately.
Any weighbridge would require regular calibration and checking by
Trading Standards officers to ensure that it is accurate.
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The installation of weighbridges and a weighbridge office would require
planning permission. Such a planning application may require the submission
of traffic and environmental assessments which would require the
employment of consultants. If a decision were taken to charge a flat rate fee
for all material then the installation of weighbridges would be unnecessary and
there would be no need for a planning permission.
Security
Unless access to a site is strictly on an account, voucher or credit/debit card
or other ‘pre-pay’ basis, security would be required for taking payment. If a
weighbridge office were required to house the controls of the weighbridge, this
could be used as a secure office where cash could be stored. If there were no
weighbridge office then some form of security would be required.
In addition, security measures to avoid cheating would have to be put in place.
Whatever the method of accepting payment, be it account, voucher,
credit/debit card or cash, it would be relatively easy for staff to come to an
arrangement with a trader to by-pass any access controls and payment.
Because of this, those controlling commercial access could be County Council
staff or technology such as Automatic Number Plate Recognition might be
advantageous, albeit at additional cost.
Variation to Existing Contracts
Current site operations contracts, while requiring staff to refuse access to
traders do not require them to regulate trade access. Depending on the level
of trade use, additional staff may be required to man a weighbridge, to deal
with the paperwork and to take payment. Contracts would, thus, need to be
varied to allow this and while no particular difficulty is envisaged it would
require additional payment for the additional work.
In order to keep costs to a minimum it would be possible to restrict the times
at which commercial waste would be accepted at any particular HWRC. It
would also be possible to restrict the types of waste which could be accepted
e.g. only recyclable material and only if segregated.
Costs
The current cost of disposing of waste from HWRC varies from material to
material depending on whether the very fluid market in recyclable materials is
paying for, or charging to receive, material and the distance from the HWRC
to the site where it is to be sorted or re-processed. Costs currently vary from
an expenditure of approximately £220/tonne to an income of approximately
£250 per tonne. Unfortunately it is difficult to guarantee income over any
significant period as both the local and the world markets for recyclable
materials fluctuate significantly over short periods e.g. it is currently very
difficult to dispose of wood because a fire at a chipboard manufacturing facility
in Wales has led to an oversupply in the market. Prices reflect this over
supply.
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In 2010/11 the approximate costs of disposal from HWRC, including container
rental and haulage, are as follows:
Residual Waste
Green Garden Waste
Dry Recyclable Waste (net of income)
£109.50/tonne
£48.00/tonne
£19.50/tonne
Plastic, cans, car batteries, glass, paper, textiles and cardboard generated an
average income of some £105/tonne (varying between an income of
£24/tonne and £250/tonne) and tyres, engine oil, wood, inert material,
plasterboard and cartons cost some £27.50/tonne (varying between a cost of
£8/tonne and £220/tonne).
Using these figures (which do not include the cost of weighbridge installation,
administration and staffing):
If a trader wishes to dispose of 500kg of waste consisting of 250kg of non
recyclable waste and 50kg each of paper, cardboard, plastic bottles, green
garden waste and glass bottles then just the disposal cost to the County
Council would be in the order of:
(0.25 x 109.5) + (0.05 x 48) + (0.2 x 19.44) = £33.66 or £67.32/tonne
If a trader wishes to dispose of 150kg of waste consisting of 50kg of non
recyclable waste and the rest a mix of dry recyclables the disposal cost to the
County Council would be in the order of:
(0.05 x 109.5) + (0.1 x 19.44) = £7.42 or £49.47/tonne
A trader could, of course, be a builder and wish to dispose of a van load (say
1 tonne of soils and hardcore the cost to the County Council would be in the
order of only £12
To more accurately charge for the acceptance of commercial waste would
require the installation of a weighbridge at each site. The purchase cost of a
weighbridge ranges from £18K to £23K and the ground works for installation
(load cells, electrical works etc) between £4K and £7K. Maintenance and
calibration costs range from £1K to £3K per annum and the installation of a
telephone line for credit card payment in the order of £1,500. Depending on
the quantity of waste disposed this would add approximately £5 per tonne to
the cost. Staffing could add another £13 per tonne making the totals:
Residual Waste
Green Garden Waste
Dry Recyclable Waste (net of income)
£127.50/tonne
£66.00/tonne
£37.50/tonne
To accommodate additional waste would require the provision of additional
containers for each material segregated in order to keep separate the records
of recycling and to accommodate the anticipated increased quantities.
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The rental of such containers would be in the order of £15 each per week and
if 10 were required the additional cost per tonne of the operation could be in
the order of £1.50 per tonne making the overall cost to the County Council
some:
Residual Waste
Green Garden Waste
Dry Recyclable Waste (net of income)
£129.00/tonne
£67.50/tonne
£39.00/tonne
These figures might seem high but, from the following table of neighbouring
authorities which accept commercial waste at HWRC, it can be seen that they
are ‘on market’.
Commercial
Waste:
Weighbridge(s). 5 sites. General waste [up to
250kg - £49.66, 251-600kg - £81.60, over
600kg - £135 per tonne]. Clean green waste
[up to 250kg - £35.34, 251-750kg - £65.70,
over 750kg - £87.60 per tonne].
Commercial
Waste:
Weighbridge(s). Non-recyclables or mixed
loads- £185 per tonne (minimum £50).
Cardboard - £50 per tonne (minimum £10).
Green waste - £50 per tonne (minimum £10).
Metal - free.
Visit/Material
Charge:
Waste as a result of any building / gardening
work carried out by a contractor or
transported by other persons (man with a
van) is charged at the above rates.
Hillingdon
Commercial
Waste:
Weighbridge(s). Non-recyclables - £195 per
tonne (minimum £39). Recyclables (green,
wood, paper, cardboard) - £93 per tonne
(minimum £18).
Luton
Commercial
Waste:
Small quantities accepted at 1 site.
Commercial
Waste:
Weighbridge(s). 4 sites. Residual waste 080kg £13, 81-150kg £22, 151-250kg £34,
251-500kg £61, 501-750kg £86, over 1,001kg
£115. Other reduced rates for, green waste,
C&D waste, wood, plasterboard and paper /
cardboard.
Visit/Material
Charge:
Residents can dispose of a limited quantity of
DIY waste and are permitted a certain
number of free trips every 2 months,
depending on vehicle size (small car - 8 trips,
Buckinghamshire
Harrow
Northamptonshire
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large car - 4 trips, transit van - 2 trips). Larger
vehicles, or those making frequent trips, can
‘pay as you throw’, at the rates above.
Oxfordshire
Commercial
Waste:
Limited Commercial Waste: accepted at 1
site.
Somerset
Commercial
Waste:
Dedicated trade waste sites next to 4 sites.
Commercial
Waste:
Operating as a trial at 2 sites with the
following charges: car - £20 a load, MPV and
4x4s - £25 a load, Single-axle trailer - £35 a
load, Double-axle trailer - £50 a load and
Transit van - £55 a load.
Suffolk
It would be extremely complicated to weigh, or otherwise account for,
individual materials therefore it might be more feasible to charge a single rate
for non separated waste, another for mixed but separated recyclable waste
and others for complete loads of individual materials.
Conclusion
The level of take up of a commercial waste disposal service is unknown and
therefore, before significant investment is made in providing such a service, it
would be prudent to do further investigation to establish need. It may well be
that, contrary to the assertions made by individuals and trade organisations,
there is no significant demand unless the charge were so low as to make it a
financial burden on the Council.
In addition, with the example of the Waterdale Waste Transfer Station
charging, at the time of writing, a range between £75 and £87 per tonne
(inclusive of landfill tax), while it may be feasible to accept commercial waste
at most of the HWRCs, the level of take up is unknown, due to the belief that
the commercial sector provides an option at less cost. Evidence of this is
borne out, not only at the increasing tonnages through the Authority’s own
transfer station but also at the purpose built Aston Clinton HWRC in
Buckinghamshire who have seen volumes of commercial waste decline from
1,000 tonnes in 2009/10, to 836 tonnes in 2010/11 to an estimated 700
tonnes in 2011/12.
An alternative would be to only accept recyclable waste, for example, mixed
cardboard and paper that may, in the main, provide a ‘neutral’ net-zero cost
dependent on the quantity collected in the container, and leave it to the
private sector to provide residual waste disposal, although the comments
regarding disruption would still apply.
Whatever method might be chosen to accept commercial waste the County
Council would be required, under current legislation, to ensure that all
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commercial waste carriers are registered as such with the Environment
Agency and all loads are accompanied by a fully completed waste transfer
note. This would not be an issue for bona fide traders but might be so for
some of those which are supposedly finding it difficult to dispose of
commercial waste and hence, the perceived benefit of providing a commercial
waste service being linked to reduced fly-tipping is questionable.
Recommendations
It is recommended that, if this option is to be pursued further, and before
investing in any infrastructure or changes to the Council’s policies, continued
research be carried out with local chambers of commerce and other
representative groupings of small businesses to determine the reality of the
need for additional commercial waste disposal and recycling services in
Hertfordshire or its environs.
If that research shows that small businesses are indeed having trouble finding
adequate disposal facilities then consideration should be given to allowing
them to use a limited number of the larger HWRCs for the disposal of a range
of sorted recyclables; at a charge representative of the County Council’s
costs, and with, for example, the Waterdale Waste Transfer Station being
available, as it is now, for the disposal of unsorted residual waste.
Notwithstanding the possible introduction following further investigation of
need, then the provision of a service for disposal of commercial wastes at the
HWRCs forms part of an outcome based procurement in 2014 with the
‘market’ offering a clearly defined and policed solution for Hertfordshire
businesses.
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