Reminder to Holiday Let Owners on Rubbish Collections

Reminder to holiday let owners on rubbish collections in Cornwall. In 2012 the Government issued revised waste legislation that described how all waste types should be classified (i.e. household, commercial) based upon where the waste is produced. This included a number of changes affecting campsites, charity shops, hotels, B & Bs and waste produced from self-catering accommodation.  Waste from these producers is classified as commercial waste. As a result of the legislation any producer of commercial waste is required by law to make their own arrangements for waste collection and disposal rather than being disposed of by the Council’s household waste and kerbside recycling service.

Cornwall Council is aware that many affected by the changes still put their rubbish out with domestic rubbish for collection which costs the Council and at these times of harsh Government cuts, this cannot continue.

Following a decision by Members to implement the legislation in two phases, the Council initially wrote to schools, nursing homes, residential homes hospitals, charities, clubs and societies advising them of the changes to the legislation and outlining their responsibilities.

Implementing the second phase, which includes waste from camp sites, self-catering accommodation and guest houses, has proved more complex. The scale of self-catering accommodation and guest homes in Cornwall, plus the added complication of second homes that are hard to tell apart from holiday lets has made it tough to get the message out and enforce the change.

Over the past few months the Council has been looking at ways of ensuring that the owners of these properties are disposing of their waste in accordance with the law and are now carrying out a pilot project in Port Isaac to decide how best to identify properties affected by the change and ensure they are making their own waste collection arrangements. The pilot will be used to agree the best way to ensure all properties/ businesses affected by the law in Cornwall are abiding by it.

“It is important that we are fair and consistent in our approach and that all properties producing commercial waste pay for its collection and disposal, rather than the costs falling on council tax payers” said Joyce Duffin, the Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing and Environment. “This means ensuring that all property owners are made aware of their responsibilities with regard to the waste legislation”.

“We are aware that, while a number of self-catering properties and holiday lets are already making their own arrangements for disposing of their waste, others are leaving their waste out in black bags for the Council to collect and dispose of.  This is illegal and during the pilot we will be working with St Endellion Parish Council and waste contractor Cory Environmental to ensure that they are making the arrangements to dispose of their waste appropriately”.

Considerable work has been carried out by officers from the Waste Management team and Cory over the past few months to identify the owners of self-catering properties and holiday let accommodation in the village, as well as holiday letting agents and cleaning companies, and those local businesses which are wrongly using the household waste collection service to dispose of their commercial waste.

The Council will now be writing to these people to explain their responsibilities for arranging for the collection and disposal of their waste, and informing them that from 4 July the authority will be stopping waste collections and removing any Council provided waste and recycling containers from the property.

Local Cornwall Councillor Andy Penny is backing the pilot project.  “I support the efforts to untangle domestic and commercial waste in our area and to reinforce business responsibility for their waste” he said.

“As the Chairman of Port Isaac Village hall, a registered charity, I have had discussions with Cory and am waiting for the commercial contract to be produced.”