Fife set to scrap charges for bulky uplifts

Fife Council will take a £1.1m hit on lost revenue and increasing its fleet of vehicles and staff to get the scheme up and running in April.

Residents currently pay £15 or £30 per uplift, but the cost of living crisis had prompted concerns many people could no longer afford to have the items collected - and that could lead to a rise in fly-tipping.

The council continue to operate the same booking system, with 180 slots daily available on a first come first served basis,, but it will need an additional seven vans and 14 workers to cope with the anticipated extra bookings.

The switch to a free service is expected to lead to an initial spike in demand - Falkirk Council reported a three-fold rise.

In 2021/22, 34,859 items were collected in 14,235 bulky uplift collections across Fife, and the list of items that can be collected will remain the same.

A report to councillors stated: “The provision of a free bulky uplift service by both Fife Council in 2004 and, more recently, by Falkirk Council showed a three-fold increase in demand. It is reasonable to assume that this will be the case with the new scheme and all resource requirements have been based on that level of increase.

“A three-fold increase in the current demand for the collection of materials takes the annual volume from circa 35,000 to 105,000 items.”

The service estimates that one van and two operatives can make 20 uplifts in a day, with an average of 2.5 items per collection. With nine vans in operation working 260 days per year, the number of items lifted would be 117,000 - in excess of the anticipated threefold demand.

John Rodigan, head of environment and building services, said: ”Concerns are growing that the current cost of living crisis will see some residents unable to pay for the uplift of bulky items they cannot dispose of in their domestic waste bins. The removal of bulky uplift charges will support residents with financial challenges and help them to dispose of their waste in a responsible manner.”

Councillors at the cabinet meeting agreed to remove the charges from April