30^th Nov 2016

Essex County Council is in dispute with a Brentwood landlord as they have stopped him from taking his garden waste to its recycling centres. The landlord has spoken to the Essex Live website of his shock at their decision.

The landlord Sam Samarasekera, rents out thirteen properties within the area, some of which are HMOs (House in Multiple Occupation). He has been told by the council that he will be breaking the law if he continues taking his trailer of grass cuttings to any of its recycling centres.

The landlord believes that the new council policy of banning pickup trucks, multi axle trailers and small vans will just encourage a wave of fly-tipping and discriminates against responsible individuals who look after their buy-to-let properties.

Samarasekera said:"The very nature of HMOs is that no single tenant in a property is responsible for maintaining the garden and disposing of the waste that comes with it, such as grass cuttings and hedges. Furthermore there will occasionally be a broken bed or electrical equipment too, such as a fridge or microwave. It is the responsibility of me, the landlord, to dispose of these” he tells Essex Live.

More than a dozen councils across England were asked if they operated a similar policy and they confirmed that they did.

Councils said that small size developers, single builders and landlords account for a large amount waste being disposed of at their recycling centres, and should not be classed as 'private' individuals because of their branding or size of their vehicles so they should pay the fees,

Samarasekera added: "Mine is a tiny trailer but this is not about the size or the number of wheels. They are jumping on me because I take it from other houses and the whole thing is so counter-productive. I understand there is an issue with builders taking their loads to the recycling centre but I am a private landlord."

The landlord has received correspondence from Essex County Council informing him that he will be breaking the law if he continues to dispose his garden waste at a recycling centre.

The council's statement is quoted in the story, says: "The taxpayer cannot continue to pick up the bill for businesses that don't dispose of their waste properly. These operational changes will stop people unlawfully disposing of business and trade waste at recycling centres at the expense of the taxpayer, whilst still providing the facility for residents to dispose of their legitimate DIY waste when carrying out ad-hoc work at home themselves."


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