The council plans to cut the fee for collecting bulky waste such as mattresses and sofas from £60 to £25 to try to tackle fly-tipping.
The lower charge widens the gap between the fee and the cost of a fine – £400 – for those caught breaking the law.
The enforcement regime is expected to be reviewed soon too as Labour councillor Tim Rowkins said that Brighton and Hove City Council was looking to encourage people to dispose of their rubbish in a responsible way.
Councillor Rowkins, the council’s cabinet member for environmental services and net zero, told the annual budget meeting: “This city has been plagued for as long as I can remember by people dumping large items next to communal bins.
“With around 40 per cent of our residents not having access to a car and our household waste sites on the edges of the city, what other options are there?
“The council offers a bulky waste collection service but the prices start at £60.
“Well, not any more. From (Wednesday) 1 April, that £60 will be slashed to £25, making it far more affordable to do the right thing and dispose of these items responsibly.”
The council is understood to be looking at other measures to address fly-tipping too, including skip days and waste amnesties
And people can expect to see stickers on some communal bins to point people to the collection service.
More details are expected to be brought before the council’s cabinet in the coming month.
Didn’t the council dramatically increase collection charges a couple of years ago and stop offering discounts to pensioners?
No. They did not. Another aspect that people aren’t aware of is that if it’s furniture in good nick, they’ll recycle/reuse it for free.
Had a bulk load removed in 2021 – cost £23 with 50% discount for being over 60.
Similar load in 2024 – cost £60 and no discount. 2 further loads cost another £45 and £60 with no discounts.
Now just get out chainsaw and took it in boot to tio
Local Emmaus only wants furniture with fire safety tags. Others, including dark wood furniture, rejected.
Have you thought of changing your handle to Karoline Leavitt? 😉
The rate of £60 for up to 3 items has been static for many years. Despite a bit of googling of publicly available documents and news items, I can find no evidence of a senior citizen discount having been removed or changed.
I called and was told there was no longer a senior citizen discount. It was no longer available
Excellent, really hope this encourages people not to put bulky items into communal bins
People are still going to leave stuff by bins. Brighton being so expensive, even £25 can put a few meals on the table for a family.
I don’t think they ever stop people doing it, hopefully it just cuts the amount that it is being done.
Only because it takes over 3 weeks for them to come and collect it and you have to keep it in your home until then if you put it outside you can get done for fly tipping
They also won’t pickup any items that they deem as too bulky, so how do they think it will reduce flytipping?
Oh really? What item did they seem too bulky?
A step in the right direction! Although in some countries it is free and happens once a fortnight.
It would also send a message that the council cares about the issue and that taxpayers get a tangible benefit!
Someone ends up paying for it though, and when it comes to flytipping, that comes straight out of rents, which reduces available funds for things like improving homes.
I’ve always liked the idea of seasonal amnesty days though, Whitehawk had one last year. Gives people a way of getting rid of stuff properly, without having to pay extra, and encourages people to wait for one of those days, rather than flytip.