Bohemia Village Voice

By John Humphries Aug 2011.

Hastings Council says rubbish collection costs each resident 27p per week

WE TEND TO think of rubbish collection as ‘free’, but of course it is anything but – we pay for it via council tax. If residents were paying directly for rubbish clearance, (as they do, say, for gas, electricity, water and phone) they’d be very aware of the different levels of service. The Voice asked Hastings Borough Council for costs of the various methods of collection, so that a meaningful comparison could be made.
Peter Mead, Waste and Street Scene Services Manager at HBC said “The total cost per household per year is £26.78 (52p per week), which equates to a cost per resident per year of £14.12 (27p per week). The cost of street cleaning when calculated per household per year is £25.88 (50p per week). The cost of street cleaning per resident per year is £13.65 (26p per week)”. He added “These are contactor costs only. The figures include all collections (daily, weekly and twin bin) and communal bins added together and divided by households or per capita. On-street containers are not included”. The Voice had also asked if there were separate costs for a) black bags, b) twin bins and c) communal bins. As we go to press, we still await a reply.

o Peter Mead, HBC (pmead@hastings.gov.uk)