A meeting between local authority leaders and DEFRA has been planned. The aim of the meeting is to iron out a clause in the waste law which requires local authorities to offer waste disposal services to educational and penal institutions for instance at no cost. The meeting was proposed by Joan Ruddock of DEFRA.
In a letter to council chief executives, the chairperson of the Local Government Association’s environment board, councillor Paul Bettison, had earlier said that providing free waste disposal services to the said institutions would be too expensive for the local authorities.
On the financial implications of the clause, Mrs. Ruddock has admitted that she was well aware of the effect such a move would have on the councils keeping in mind the pressures they faced.
Joan Ruddock further added that a review of waste management legislation would be a big responsibility and hoped the meeting would offer the chance to deliberate on the arguments that were being advanced to push for the review of the offending laws.
As per the Local Government Association, the provision to provide free waste disposal services to institutions had ruffled feathers in the local authority sector and it had moved the local authorities to write to Defra and point out the financial and logistical implications of the move.
In the meantime however, Joan Ruddock has urged the local authorities to abide by the present understanding of the law without further ado to avert any potential legal challenge.
She further said that worries over the trade waste legislation, which were also brought up by the Local Government Association, were misleading.
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