DIY waste fee ban will cost Hampshire £2m, council warns

Hampshire County Council has imposed charges on DIY waste since 2016

Ending fees to dispose of DIY waste will cost Hampshire County Council up to £2m a year, the authority has said.

From 1 January councils can no longer charge for disposing of waste such as rubble, in line with changes in national legislation.

Cabinet member Nick Adams-King said it would be an additional cost to the council with resources already "stretched to the limit".

The government said removing charges could deter illegal waste dumping.

About a third of local authorities, including Hampshire, have been charging to dispose of DIY waste at recycling centres since 2016.

The government announced in June it would prohibit local authorities from imposing so called "tip taxes".

'Additional cost'

Mr Adams-King, cabinet member for universal services, said the charges currently helped pay for the recycling or disposal of DIY waste, such as soil, rubble, asbestos and gypsum board, which require specialist processing.

"While it is clearly positive for householders, we do estimate that the removal of fees from January could impose an additional cost to Hampshire council taxpayers of up to £2m every year," he said.

"An additional cost of this scale comes at a time when our finances are stretched to the limit, with difficult decisions needing to be taken about how the county council can continue to deliver services in the future within the resources available."

Last month the council announced savings proposals to help meet a £132m budget shortfall faced by the local authority from April 2025, including a review of Hampshire's household waste and recycling centres.

The government said ending charges might reduce the temptation for people making home improvements to use "waste cowboys who fly-tip rubbish".

Environment Minister Rebecca Pow previously said: "We want to make it as easy as possible for people to dispose of their waste properly and that's why we are removing the financial burden on doing the right thing with DIY trash."

The government has banned councils from charging residents to dispose of DIY waste.