Decision details

The Portfolio Holder for Operations will be asked to consider proposals for standardising the cost of waste collections provided to places of worship located in West Suffolk.

RESOLVED:

That a consistent charging regime for places of worship, as set out in section 2 of Report No: CAB/WS/19/010, be adopted.

An inconsistent approach had developed across West Suffolk over time. Some places of worship decided to have two 240L residual collections, others decided to have alternate weekly collections of residual and recycling, whilst others were provided with the service on request.  62 places of worship also received garden waste collections, which were all currently provided free of charge.

If a place of worship had previously requested a waste collection from West Suffolk Council in addition to the household collections, the lower trade waste charge applied for the additional collections.

The Portfolio Holder for Operations now considers it appropriate to offer consistency in service charging across West Suffolk, and the following charging regime for places of worship customers has been agreed:

·         Places of worship are eligible, where appropriate, to receive the household waste collections free of charge. This is the collection of waste associated with POW activity and not for any commercial activity;

·         Places of worship are to be charged for garden waste collections from April 2020 onwards; and

·         Places of worship are to be charged for additional collections from April 2020, at the prevailing lower trade waste rate.

West Suffolk Council could continue to provide collections as per the current practice, however there is a disparity in service provision that the places of worship receive.

Should any place of worship not agree to West Suffolk Council’s schedule of rates, they are able to go to the private sector for their waste collections. In practice, due to the reduced rates able to be offered by the Council, it is highly unlikely that they will find a cheaper alternative.