Free charity tipping restrictions could see Greater Manchester charity shops face closure
Melanie May | 18 March 2019 | News
The Charity Retail Association has highlighted its concerns that charity shops in the Greater Manchester area will shut after the Combined Authority’s recent move to restrict free charity tipping.
The new measure is scheduled to come into force on 1 April and will see the Greater Manchester Combined Authority charge charities commercial rates to dispose of their waste after they have used up a limited amount of free visits over a 12-month period. Charities have been given three weeks’ notice before the scheduled change, without consultation.
The Charity Retail Association is calling on the Combined Authority to reverse this decision, which it says is short sighted and discriminatory, stating that charity shops reuse or recycle 330,000 tonnes of textile material and save councils around £27m in landfill tax every year. it believes charging them to dispose of unusable public donations will undoubtedly restrict their ability to raise funds for good causes.
Additionally, Charity Retail Association believes the move contravenes the Government’s Controlled Waste Regulations of 2012, which states charities can dispose of waste arising from household donations for free as their activities contribute to waste prevention by encouraging and facilitating the reuse rather than disposal of goods.
Robin Osterley, Chief Executive of the Charity Retail Association, said:
“We are disturbed to learn of this development, which if implemented, may well mean that several charity shops in the Great Manchester area face closure.
“We are calling on the Combined Authority to reverse this decision. Shop closures not only affect jobs and the ability for our members’ charities to raise money for good causes, but will also have a negative environmental impact and increase the amount of goods going into landfill – ironically costing the local authority more in landfill tax.”
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About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.