Discounts on bulky waste collection could combat Bristol fly-tipping
Councillors to set up taskforce for exploring recycling incentives
Potential discounts will be explored for getting bulky waste like sofas collected in a bid to cut down fly-tipping in Bristol. A new taskforce will be set up at Bristol City Council to look at ways of getting more people to recycle and reducing the amount of fly-tipping across the city too.
Many parts of Bristol are blighted with dumped piles of rubbish. Getting rid of large items, like furniture, is tricky and can be expensive for contractors. Meanwhile, reporting fly-tipping to the council is arduous and getting it cleared up can also prove to be difficult.
A group of councillors is going to explore the link between bulky waste services and fly-tipping, and review discount schemes and community skip models. Councillors on the environment policy committee will vote on approving the new task group on Thursday, June 4.
A committee report said: “The task and finish group would allow members to better understand the factors contributing towards the longer-term waste and resource management in the city and will consider upcoming changes, and to make recommendations for how to respond to these.”
Booking a bulky waste collection from the council for soft furnishings, like a sofa or armchair, costs £26.50 for one item, £41.50 for two items and £52 for three. Other items, like fridges or bed frames, cost £27 for up to three items, and £52 for four to six items.
As well as bulky waste and fly-tipping, the group will explore increasing repair and reuse activities, where old items are fixed and resold rather than thrown away. Bin collections for flats and places like St Paul’s will be reviewed, after concerns from locals there about skips and communal bins. They will also look at how new national laws will affect local services.
While the task group is developing new policy options, any future decisions will be made by the environment committee in public. One concern is how their work will be perceived by the public, given the controversy and national interest around last year’s consultation on switching to three or four-weekly black bin collections. “Core messages” and timed communications are planned.
Last year councillors backed a motion which called for several actions to reduce fly-tipping. These included buying new mobile cameras to catch fly-tippers and increase fines for littering. However in February this year, council bosses said the cameras would be too expensive to maintain, so councillors on the environment committee decided to scrap the plan.