VAT Announcement
Following the Chancellor's announcement to decrease VAT from 17.5% to 15% with effect from 1 December 2008, St Edmundsbury Borough Council has taken advice from HM Revenue and Customs.
For VAT registered companies, we will not be altering the VAT rate to 15% until 1 April 2009. HMRC advise that these companies can claim the VAT back through the normal means at the rate of 17.5%.
Non VAT registered companies wishing us to reduce the VAT rate will need to contact us to request this (01284 757320), and we will be happy to do so. Please contact us by 31 January 2009.
Commercial waste collection
The council can provide a commercial waste collection service to any trade or business within the borough of St Edmundsbury.
Collections can be carried out using wheeled bins of the following sizes:
- 240 litres
- 360 litres
- 660 litres
- 1100 litres
- 1280 litres
To request details and prices visit our online quotation form.
For businesses generating very small amounts of waste (such as running a business from home) a sack collection can be carried out for which pre paid sacks are available for purchase from any of the council offices.
Skip collection
A skip service is available to commercial properties. If you are interested in using this service please phone 01284 757320 or email us at waste.management@stedsbc.gov.uk.
Recycling collections
The council operated a trial on the collection of dry recyclable waste (paper and cardboard,) from a small number of businesses. We have been given funding by Suffolk County Council to provide a recycling service to all of our business customers. If you are interested in benefiting from this service please contact us on 01284 757320 or email us at waste.management@stedsbc.gov.uk
Please note - The services above do not cater for hazardous waste. For hazardous trade waste the council may be able to offer special one-off collections. For details and prices please contact 01284 757320 or email: waste.management@stedsbc.gov.uk
Commercial spillages
St Edmundsbury is unable to offer a spillage response service on commercial premises but will respond to such spillages on the public highway. In the event of a spillage which may result in liquids or waste entering the sewers or storm drainage systems, you should immediately report the incident to the Environment Agency on 08708 506 506 (website www.environment-agency.gov.uk/).
Pre-treatment regulations
The pre-treatment regulations were imposed on 30 October 2007 relating to the landfilling of waste from commercial premises. These regulations do not affect trade customers of a Local Authority run service, however we would like to take this opportunity to inform you of the regulations.
Under the pre-treatment regulations, no landfill site will be able to accept non-municipal waste (that is waste not collected by a local authority) unless it has been pre-treated. Pre-treatment is defined as waste that has an element of the recyclable material separated prior to landfill. For example, a small business will be required to separate out some recyclable material (such as cardboard) and arrange for this to be collected in addition to the collection of it's normal residual waste, or arrange for a contractor to sort the waste on their behalf prior to landfill.
If your waste is collected by a local authority it is classed as municipal waste and your business is exempt from the regulations. However, we do have targets for increasing recycling of municipal waste and we are considering the possibility of offering recycling services to all our customers in the future.
Commercial waste disposal
All businesses in England have a legal responsibility to ensure that all of their waste is disposed of properly. If you are not disposing of your waste yourself and are passing it on to a carrier (such as a skip hire company) then check their details to make sure they are authorised to carry waste and will be disposing of it correctly. Under the waste Duty of Care regulations, all businesses need to make sure their rubbish is passed to authorised carriers only. Businesses not taking reasonable measures to do so could face fines of up to £5,000.
If you are using a waste carrier other than the council to remove trade or construction waste, then ask for their waste carriers number and if in doubt check their details with the Environment Agency. You can do this by:
- phoning the Environment Agency on 08708 506506 and request an instant Waste Carrier Validation Check; or
- check online at www.environment-agency.gov.uk
If you cannot find answers to your questions email us at waste.management@stedsbc.gov.uk or phone 01284 757320
