That stinks! Councils rake in £100k with ‘nappy t ax’

Families with babies must pay up to £62 as free larger bins axed

PARENTS are being squeezed by councils asking for extra payments to take away nappies as part of their household waste.

The charges – for either larger bins or special plastic sacks – have been condemned as being unfair on families and there are fears that they will encourage fly-tipping.

In Dorset alone, seven councils are demanding t he payments, potentially raising up to £100,000 a year in extra income.

The highest fees in Britain are in Northumberland, where families already have to pay £62 for larger bins.

Across the country, at least ten councils are imposing charges.

Liberal Democrat MP Jo Swinson who has a three-year-old son, said: ‘This “nappy tax” is unfair on new parents. Family f i nances are often at their most stretched with the arrival of a new baby, due to reduced pay during parental leave and the costs associated with a newborn. The last thing parents need is to be whacked by extra charges from the council.

‘We need to improve recycling and cut down on waste, but that can be done without penalising parents with young children.

‘Ultimately, though, we need to address the funding crisis facing local councils or services like bin collections will continue to be cut.’

The charges were introduced in Dorset last week. Families who tell their council they need a bigger bin for babies’ nappies will have to pay £33. The fee rises to £55 for families who are new to the area.

Special nappy sacks that were previously free will cost £13 for 26.

Dorset Waste Partnership will not collect bins that do not close shut, making it difficult for families who try to squeeze nappies in with the rest of their household waste.

Dorchester father Jamie Oates, 34, who has a baby daughter, said: ‘People struggle to pay bills as it is. Fortunately my child will be out of nappies soon but they are quite expensive. I feel very sorry for single parents who can’t afford food let alone paying nappy tax on top.

‘We already pay council tax and income tax as well as others, and they are adding more.’

Anne-Marie O’Leary, Netmums Editor in Chief, described the charge as ‘desperately unfair’.

She said: ‘This is a further tax on parents who are already paying council tax, which is supposed to cover refuse collection. Parents are really struggling up and down the country so for this to be intro- duced is borderline scandalous.’ Conservative MP Bob Blackman warned that the ‘ short- sighted’ charges would lead to increased fly-tipping that will cost the council more to clear up. He said: ‘People won’t just resort to fly-tipping – they will start disposing of nappies down the toilets, and that will lead to blockages in the sewers.

‘That particularly tends to happen in blocks of flats, because parents just want to get rid of the nappies.’

Other councils have dropped the charging option and instead offer discounts on reusable nappies. Some provide a free collection of soiled nappies but this service is increasingly being charged for, or cancelled altogether.

Karyn Punchard, Director for the Dorset Waste Partnership, said: ‘ The new charges will make an estimated annual saving of £80,000 to £100,000 for local councils, but it’s important to note that the service changes are entirely optional and charges will only apply to successful applicants.’