Charges have been imposed for some wastes at civic amenity sites in West Sussex, which have since been withdrawn, did not result in an increase in fly tipping in the county- This was the message given to delegates at the annual National Civic Amenity Site conference held in Coventry. The view on a ‘no extra fly tipping’ result was further endorsed by Chris Chandler, senior waste manager for operations at Devon county council, who said his authority also levied charges for some materials and that there had also been no connection with fly tipping.

In April of this year, in the litter strategy Defra said: “Government’s view is clear: DIY waste is classed as household waste if it results from work a householder would normally carry out.” As a result of dropping the charges in West Sussex, said Mr Perkins, meant the council had been faced with requests for refunds from the public when it was decided to drop the charging scheme.

He said that a potential downside of the decision to stop charging was that the authority had “lost the opportunity to deliver longer term and spend to save savings options.” And, he said that the majority of residents may have been alienated and angst caused amongst councillors.