The Government has responded to the campaign, led by Surrey Liberal Democrats’, which calls on local authorities to stop charging residents for disposing of DIY waste by stating that they wish to see an end to such charges by local authorities.

A consultation released by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs states that “The Government’s view is that residents should be able to dispose of household DIY waste free of charge” and that “The Government will consider clarifying the law if councils continue to charge for disposal of reasonable amounts of DIY waste”.

Surrey County Council introduced the unpopular charges, dubbed the “Tory Tip Tax”, in September 2016 and from January this year ended the daily allowance for local residents to dispose of waste for free.

We are pleased that the Government agrees with us that these charges should be banned, and that they will, if necessary, legislate to stop councils like Surrey charging residents for disposing of DIY waste.

We believe that Councils should be doing everything they can to make it easier for residents to do the right thing and dispose of their waste legally and in a responsible manner. These charges did the exact opposite and sent out exactly the wrong message to residents in Surrey.