A councillor says he has received a series of complaints from residents after a controversial ‘rubble charge’ was introduced by the council.
Cheshire East Council has introduced a £3.50 fee to dispose of waste created from home improvements, repairs and alterations.
But Councillor Mick Warren, who represents Macclesfield East, said he has been contacted by ‘multiple’ residents hitting out at the charge, with some people left with no choice but to return home with their rubbish.
He said: “I think there was a lack of publicity about it from Cheshire East. The people that have complained to me said they weren’t told about it.
“More serious is that people will just go out to the countryside and fly tip waste, which is more expensive to clear up and you don’t know what kind of waste it is going to be when you get there.”
Frank Wigglesworth, 65, who lives in Adlington, said he has also witnessed residents caught out by the new charge, which applies to each bag/item dumped.
The retired police officer said: “I understand a charge for commercial waste but not household waste from DIY. I saw a couple trying to get rid of some rubble and they were told about this charge. They didn’t expect it so they had to take it away; what are they going to do with that waste?
“They were being responsible and taking it to the tip, which is what you are supposed to do but these charges are over and above what people expect.
“That rubbish has to go somewhere. It is short term thinking, if you consider the amount of man hours it will take to remove the waste and prosecute. It is not going to reduce the costs.”
Coun Nick Mannion, who chaired an all-party committee on fly-tipping, said the charge hasn’t been thought through.
He said: “What we are seeing from the council is penny wise pound foolish. It’s not going to reduce the costs. We are going to get more people in rural lay-bys because cowboy builders won’t want to pay the charge. Why did they introduce this charge in the first place, because it will do nothing to deter fly-tipping.”
A spokesperson for Cheshire East Council said the new charges are ‘unlikely’ to lead to more fly-tipping.
They said: “This authority takes fly-tipping very seriously and we are currently running a robust ‘no rubbish excuses’ campaign to address fly-tipping and littering and to advise residents that, where possible, offenders will be prosecuted.
“We are satisfied that the introduction of charges for non-household waste is unlikely to be a catalyst for people to fly-tip as such issues are usually the actions of a minority of unscrupulous individuals who have little respect for their local environment.”
To report fly-tipping contact the council on www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/environment or 0300 1235011.
