Dorset Waste Partnership predicted to exceed budget

Councillors will discuss findings following a consultation about household recycling centres

A waste service in Dorset is predicted to bust its budget by £911,000 in 2015/16, unless action is taken.

Dorset Waste Partnership (DWP), which overspent by £2.72m in 2014/15, is now expected to exceed this year's £32.46m budget, according to a report.

Launched in 2011 with the aim of saving £2m a year, the partnership provides waste, recycling and street cleaning services to seven councils.

DWP said the report was made possible by improvements in financial reporting.

The latest predicted overspend is the result of extra disposal costs of recyclables material, a shortfall in garden waste income and failure to achieve some savings, the report said.

Committee chairman Anthony Alford said: "We have improved our financial reporting to the extent that we are able to have this report early in the financial year, whereas in the past that would not have been possible.

"One major variable is the amount of waste people put out for collection. Another area of volatility concerns pricing for the materials we want to recycle. Once upon a time we would expect a substantial income from that recyclable material; now we are having to pay a cost to have it taken away."

The partnership is made up of Christchurch, East Dorset, North Dorset, Weymouth and Portland, Purbeck, West Dorset and Dorset County Council.