Household Recycling Centres: Waste Access and Acceptance Policy (WAAP)

Last updated: 31 December 2023 Download a PDF version of the Waste Access and Acceptance Policy (pdf, 4.0 MB)

3. Statutory requirements

3.1 The council’s HRC service is provided under the EPA 1990, section 51 as follows:

(1) It shall be the duty of each waste disposal authority to arrange —

(b) For places to be provided at which persons resident in its area may deposit their household waste and for the disposal of waste so deposited;

(2) The arrangements made by a waste disposal authority under subsection (1) (b) above shall be such as to secure that—

(a) Each place is situated either within the area of the authority or so as to be reasonably accessible to persons resident in its area;

(b) each place is available for the deposit of waste at all reasonable times (including at least one period on the Saturday or following day of each week except a week in which the Saturday is 25th December or 1st January);

But the arrangements may restrict the availability of specified places to specified descriptions of waste.

(3) A waste disposal authority may include in arrangements made under subsection (1) (b) above arrangements for the places provided for its area for the deposit of household waste free of charge by residents in its area to be available for the deposit of household or other controlled waste by other persons on such terms as to payment (if any) as the authority determines.

3.2 As part of its principle of reducing the cost of waste disposal to Buckinghamshire taxpayers, the council reviewed the number of HRCs that are necessary to ensure they are cost effective and at a place that is reasonably accessible. In determining the number and location of sites, the council has taken account of the following:

drive times for residents to their nearest sites and alternatives (county-wide)
haulage and waste transfer logistics
cost per tonne of running each site
possible fly-tipping impacts
estimated savings compared to other options
visitor numbers
future housing growth (and ability for each site to handle this growth)
legislative compliances
deliverability
traffic counters
waste tonnages & trends
service costs
benchmarking against other HRC services
industry best practice
annual Buckinghamshire HRC customer satisfaction surveys

This list is not exhaustive; it provides an overview of the scope of information used to help inform the decisions taken.

3.3 Household waste means waste from a domestic property which is used wholly for the purpose of living accommodation, a caravan situated on a caravan site, a residential home, education premises and certain hospitals and care homes. The Controlled Waste (England and Wales) Regulations (CWR) 2012 provide a definition of Household Waste and those categories that can be subject to a collection charge if collected from the property and a disposal charge if brought to an HRC. Household waste for which no disposal charge can be levied is as follows:

Articles of household waste, including those which exceed 25kg in weight or does not fit into the receptacle provided for collection from the home;
Garden waste;
Dead domestic pets;
Waste oil or grease;
Asbestos, where this is waste from a domestic property not connected to construction or demolition works;
Waste from premises used wholly or mainly for public meetings;
Clinical waste and offensive waste produced at a domestic property, a caravan or a vehicle or vessel used wholly for the purposes of living accommodation;
Waste from a residential hostel;
Waste from a charity shop selling donated goods originating from domestic property, but only for that waste that originated from a domestic property; and
Waste from premises occupied by a community interest company or charity or not for profit body which collects goods for re-use or waste to prepare for re-use from domestic property, but only for that waste that originated from a domestic property.

3.4 A disposal charge can be levied for the following categories of household waste:

Waste from a charity shop selling donated goods, but only to the extent that the waste originated from a non-domestic property;
Waste from premises occupied by a community interest company or charity or not for profit body, which collects good for re-use or waste to prepare for re-use, but only to the extent that the waste originated from non-domestic property;
Litter and refuse collected under section 89(1)(f) of the EPA 1990;
The non-residents user charging regime flows from an interpretation of The Local Authorities (Prohibition of Charging Residents to Deposit Household Waste) Order 2015, which prohibits a charge being levied to Buckinghamshire residents within the administrative area. Non-Buckinghamshire resident users- can be charged. This charge is for non-resident users entering and exiting the HRCs. For further details please refer to paragraph A5.3.
Waste from a residential home or land belonging to or wholly or mainly used in connection with a residential home;
Waste from premises forming part of a university, school, or other educational establishment, but subject to paragraph 4(8) of the CWR 2012 Regulation; and
Waste from a penal institution.

3.5 Construction and demolition waste arising from works at domestic premises constitutes industrial waste. Further details of what the council classifies as construction and demolition waste are provided in Table 1 below. The council has agreed to accept construction and demolition waste from domestic properties at its HRCs on payment of a reasonable charge to cover the cost of dealing with and disposing of this type of waste.

3.6 Table 1 provides a non-exhaustive list of examples of the types of materials which the council will accept free of charge at HRCs, and those for which charges can be levied.

Table 1 – Categories of waste which will/will not be accepted free of charge to Buckinghamshire residents within the administrative area to the HRCs
Material which are accepted free of charge	Materials for which charges can be levied
All household waste delivered by residents to the HRCs, including but not limited to: • Small recyclables • Cardboard • Paper • Cans • Glass • Plastic bottles • Drinks cartons / Tetra-pak • Textiles and shoes • Books • Green (garden) waste • Metal • Large and small electrical domestic appliances • Hazardous household wastes • Chemicals • Paint • Fridges and freezers • Televisions and monitors (CRT) • Fluorescent tubes • Batteries (domestic and vehicle) • Dense plastics • Carpet • Mattresses • Furniture • Black-bag waste containing general waste	Waste resulting from construction and demolition waste: • Fence and shed panels • Ceramic tiles (all types) • Bathroom suites • Doors and windows • Fitted kitchen units • Roofing materials including felt, guttering and tiles • Inert material such as rubble, concrete, bricks and roof tiles • Plaster and plasterboard • Laminate flooring • Wooden floorboards and skirting boards • Asbestos resulting from construction of demolition works • Soil from construction works, including landscaping activities • Any other building materials Other:• Tyres

3.7 Clinical waste – as an alternative to disposal at an HRC, the council collects clinical waste free of charge from domestic premises, for further details please see the council’s website. For this reason, this waste will not be accepted at the HRCs.

3.8 Domestic Pets (for example, cats and dogs) – as an alternative to disposal at an HRC, for further details please see the council’s website. This is the responsibility of the owner. For this reason, this waste will not be accepted at the HRCs.