AROUND £16,000 could be slashed from Tavistock Town Council's expenditure budget, if a new waste collection policy is adopted in the town.

The question of waste came under discussion during a meeting of the town's properties committee last week.

Cllr Brian Trew said that during the course of his work he had uncovered a fact that could have substantial financial implications, not just for the council but for businesses in the area.

Cllr Trew said that by law, waste collection authorities (WCAs)— in this case, West Devon Borough Council — must collect household waste free of charge, apart from in exceptional circumstances.

But commercial waste producers — for example, hospitals, prisons, schools, courts, town or parish councils, hotels and markets — do have the right to request that WCAs collect their waste, for which the WCA can charge a reasonable cost for its collection, but not profit from it, said Cllr Trew.

'If Tavistock was to apply to the WCA for them to collect all the council's waste, they would be compelled to do so at a rate that reflected the collection costs only.

'We currently spend a great deal on private waste collection — I suggest Tavistock Town Council should formally request that West Devon fulfil its statutory duty and collects all our commercial waste, which will include all waste from the pannier market.'

Cllr Trew added that this situation could have implications for other businesses in Tavistock who may wish to act similarly.

He said the duty of the WCA to collect waste only began when it was asked in writing to do so.

'If they say no, they are in breach of the law,' he said.

Cllr Ted Sherrell said if this was the case, he was '100% in favour' of Cllr Trew's proposal.

The committee agreed further investigations should take place in line with Cllr Trew's proposal — the decision was due to be ratified by the full council at its meeting on Tuesday.

A spokesman for West Devon Borough Council said what was classified as commercial and what as household waste, had been an area requiring better national clarification in the Environmental Protection Act 1990 for some time.

'Any waste of a commercial nature certainly would be chargeable, for instance the waste generated by the pannier market.

'Officers are more than happy, however, to meet with the town council to discuss the issues and share any of the information relating to waste legislation which we have.'