Taunton Deane MP Rebecca Pow said:
"I know many people are keen on DIY. Whether it’s sorting out a kitchen cabinet, fixing some tiles or even replacing the bathtub, we often prefer it if we can do it ourselves.
Then comes the rubbish afterwards. Once, this meant a trip down the tip to get rid of our waste. Thankfully, our councils are helping us to recycle more than ever before – but about a third still charge people for taking their DIY waste. That’s not right and I am determined to fix it.
That’s why we’re moving ahead with plans to abolish these charges, making sure you can dispose of much of your DIY waste at the recycling centre for free.
This isn’t just good news for us members of the DIY brigade. Council charges may mean that hiring waste cowboys is too tempting for some – with promises of no questions asked for rubble to disappear in trade vans at what seems like too good a deal to miss. All too often, these dodgy dealers just dump the waste at the earliest opportunity. Fly-tipping costs us all, both financially in clean-up costs and by creating a danger to wildlife or people, and I know from correspondence that I receive how angry people are about this blight on our beautiful countryside.
Ending council charges for DIY waste could help end any temptation to cut corners and so cut fly-tipping. We’ve already announced grants totalling £775,000 to help councils roll out a range of projects to crack down on fly-tipping earlier this year and we are also developing a toolkit with the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group to share the best methods of tackling this crime.
It’s a win-win – a win for home improvers and a win for our environment."
For more information please see here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/council-diy-waste-charges-abolished
