Birmingham firms told they will be charged to use city household waste centres
Businesses are set to be charged for using Birmingham’s household recycling centres under new plans being implemented by the city council.
The local authority said it wanted to make it as easy as possible for residents to dispose of waste at the city’s five Household Recycling Centres (HRCs).
The move will see businesses using vans to dispose of commercial waste at the centres being charged. The changes come into effect on July 10.
HRCs will continue to be free of charge for all Birmingham residents wishing to dispose of household items. The council said the change would also enable better management of queues at busier times, reducing the time visitors would have to wait to dispose of their waste.
Under the new system, anyone with a van will need to call ahead and pre-book a slot. For residents, the service will continue to be free.
The cost to businesses will be £75 per visit and firms will also only be permitted to use James Road HRC in Tyseley.
Timeslots for residents wanting to take their waste in vans to the HRC will be Monday to Friday (10am-6pm) and weekends (8am-4pm).
Timeslots for firms wanting to take advantage of the service will be Monday to Friday (8am-10am and 6pm-7pm).
Standard Transit-sized vans and minivans will be accepted on site – but larger Luton vans, cage vans and tipper vans will be prohibited. Anyone hiring a van to take advantage of the new chargeable service has been advised to book their slot before booking their van, to ensure they do not get the wrong type of vehicle.
Cllr Lisa Trickett, cabinet member for Clean Streets, Recycling and Environment, said: “The key point about this new service is that there will continue to be no charge for Birmingham’s citizens who have waste from their own home that they wish to dispose of. The £75 charge for vans will only apply to businesses depositing waste at the HRC.
“This is about ensuring fairer use of our HRCs and ensuring that taxpayer money is spent in the most effective way possible. Businesses have a legal obligation to dispose of their waste responsibly and this offers an easy and convenient way for many firms to do this.
“By creating a hub for this service at the Tyseley site, we will also be releasing some of the pressure than can build up at our other sites during peak times.”
