Cost of bulky item collections set to rise

The higher charges are being introduced as councils face a new requirement to dispose of fire-retardant materials separately

People in Sheffield will have to pay more to have bulky waste collected from their homes from April.

Sheffield City Council said the increase was due to a rise in the cost of disposing of fire-retardant materials.

It will now cost up to £8.06 more to have up to three items collected, bringing the charge to £37.66.

"It's probably cheaper than getting a man in a van to chuck it in the local woods," said David Barker, who sits on the council's waste and street scene policy committee.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, new Environment Agency guidance requires councils to dispose separately of bulky waste items containing persistent organic pollutants (POPs).

These are found in fire-retardant materials in soft furnishings such as settees and chairs, which have to be separated from other big items and taken to a separate waste disposal point.

The new charges have been introduced to cover the annual £146,000 running costs for an additional vehicle and driver to take items containing POPs to specialist disposal points.

At a meeting on Friday the waste and street scene policy committee rejected options of adding a separate charge for POPs items only, or the council absorbing the cost.

The changes will also see the £49.80 charge for having four to six items collected increase by £1.67 to £51.47, while having between seven and nine items collected will cost £70.72 instead of £70 and disposing of 10 to 12 items will cost £89.33 instead of £88.60, a rise of 73p.

The meeting heard 72% of people using the service had up to three items collected.

"You're kind of putting people off at the lower end and that is where the most collections are," councillor Peter Gilbert said of the charges.

He questioned whether the changes would result in an increase in fly-tipping.

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