We have suspended our charges
In order to avoid any potential confusion for our residents in West Sussex we have decided to suspend all charges for DIY type of materials until the review by the Government has been concluded (by end of 2017).

From 11 April therefore householders visiting any West Sussex amenity site will no longer be charged for the deposit of material which results from the sort of work householders would normally carry out on their homes – what most people would refer to as DIY waste. 

Once the Government’s review has been concluded – expected by the end of 2017 - the County Council will look at the matter again.

Was charging wrong?
We don't believe so. Its very complex. Increased demand for essential services, coupled with reduced government funding, means West Sussex County Council has to reduce its spending. 

This led to our decision on 1st October 2016 to charge for residents’ “Non-Household” wastes - including DIY waste. 

Introducing these charges at our West Sussex Household Waste Recycling Sites (HWRSs) enabled the council to make critical savings while still maintaining a comprehensive service for residents. 

The reason the charging is complex, is all waste is coded, and the government’s classification of DIY waste in their Litter document labels it as household waste.

 This is at odds with the classification under the official Waste Regulations, followed by all waste disposal authorities, where these chargeable waste streams are classified as industrial or construction and demolition waste.

For this reason, and following Ms Leadsam's statement, we are waiting along with every other authority to understand what the review's conclusions will be.

What has changed?
We have changed the daily opening hours at all sites to 10:00am to 7:00pm in summer and 10:00am to 5:00pm in winter. Our sites are now following their summer schedule.

We have changed the number of days 8 out of the 11 Household Waste Recycling Sites are open to 5 days each week – all will be open weekends. (Crawley, Burgess Hill and Westhampnett are required to operate Waste Transfer Stations for kerbside collection services and will therefore remain open 7 days a week).

We no longer accepting LGV, tractor and mobile plant tyres. We charge for car and van tyres - £4 each.

We made changes to the Mobile Household Waste Recycling Service – all Chichester District mobile HWRSs are now closed, except at Selsey and the Witterings. These two mobile recycling services will now offer waste and recycling services on a fortnightly basis, on alternate Thursdays.

We are investing in an enforcement team to support the existing enforcement measures against fly tipping carried out by district and borough councils.