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Charity shops waste campaign scores early hit

Finance | 1 Oct 2007

The association of Charity Shops (ACS) has claimed an early victory in its new campaign to stop local authorities overcharging charity shops for collecting waste.

In launching the campaign, ACS called the behaviour of Birmingham, Southampton and Norwich city councils “disgraceful”. But immediately afterwards, Birmingham City Council announced that it had recently changed its charging policies.

David Moir, head of policy and public affairs at ACS, said: “Despite regular contact from ACS lobbying the council to change its policy, Birmingham did not inform us of its decision and did not reply to our last email and voicemail messages. If this is confirmed, we welcome Birmingham’s change of heart, which came about as a direct result of pressure from the sector. It is surprising and disappointing that Birmingham failed to let us know of this change, so that the sector could be kept informed and benefit immediately from a reduction to their waste bills.”

The campaign has focused on the fact that the councils charge charity shops for both the collection and disposal of their waste, as if it was commercial waste, contrary to regulations. On the basis of returns from members, ACS estimates that the average additional cost of incorrect charging for disposal of charity shop waste is around £400 per shop per annum. Broad estimates suggest that as collection costs are roughly the same as disposal costs, incorrect charging can double a shop’s waste bill.

Since June 2006, ACS and some of its members have written to, called and emailed overcharging authorities to make the case for fair charging. As a result, around 60 authorities have now changed their policies and charge correctly. In September 2006, officials from DEFRA wrote to 191 English authorities, reminding them of their obligations under the Controlled Waste Regulations. These included authorities which were, or might be, overcharging.

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Directory: Charity Retail Association