A council leader has laid out her frustration as residents face a ban on disposing waste such as sofas, chairs and cushions in Cambridgeshire. 

These items and other upholstered domestic seating waste will no longer be accepted at Cambridgeshire County Council’s household waste and recycling centres.

The ban, which begins from January 1, comes after enforcement action from the Environment Agency (EA) was announced. 

“This council declared a climate emergency back in 2019 and since then has been doing everything it can to become net carbon zero by 2040,” Councillor Anna Bailey, leader of East Cambridgeshire District Council, said. 

“However, it is very disappointing to learn this will be coming into force on January 1 before alternative arrangements can be put in place.” 

Upholstered domestic seating waste that are treated with fire retardants such as sofas, chairs and beanbags contain persistent organic pollutants (POPs), a form of poisonous chemical substances. 

In law, items that contain POPs cannot be disposed of in landfill, which is how Cambridgeshire County Council dispose of waste that cannot be recycled. 

The legislation requires any POPs waste to be incinerated and not landfilled, including any non-POPs waste that may have come into contact with it and may be contaminated.  

Ely Standard: Councillor Anna Bailey has shared her disappointment after enforcement action on disposing upholstered domestic seating waste, such as sofas, was announced by the Environment Agency.Councillor Anna Bailey has shared her disappointment after enforcement action on disposing upholstered domestic seating waste, such as sofas, was announced by the Environment Agency. (Image: Cllr Anna Bailey)

The county council had appealed to the EA to delay the enforcement of regulations to allow alternative measures to be put in place for residents and waste operators. 

Cllr Bailey said East Cambs Council will work with the county council “to discuss how best to manage the situation in the interim, whilst a longer-term solution can be secured”. 

East Cambs Street Scene, the district council-owned company that runs waste services, will not be able to collect upholstered domestic seating waste as part of its household or bulky waste collections from January 1. 

Residents are being advised to use either re-use or retailer take-back schemes for this type of waste. 

A confirmed list of incinerators able to receive POPs has not yet been supplied to East Cambs Council. 

Cllr Bailey added: “We ask that residents take advantage of re-use schemes or trade-in initiatives used by retailers or hold onto such items until we can provide an update.” 

Cambridgeshire County Council and the EA have been contacted for comment.