Commerical waste charges: R (on the application of Western Riverside Waste Authority) v Wandsworth BC

A judicial review was brought before the High Court of Justice on 7 April 2005. The Western Riverside Waste Authority sought judicial review of a decision by Wandsworth Borough Council relating to the fixing and publication of a tariff of charges for the collection of commercial waste from commercial organisations situated in Wandsworth.


Wandsworth Borough Council had also decided to release Wandsworth’s previous waste collection contractor, Onyx UK Ltd, from the contractual restrictions that prevented it from competing for waste collection. The Western Riverside Waste Authority claimed that the Wandsworth BC had acted unlawfully in respect of its duty to provide a commercial waste collection service under section 45(1)(b) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and by imposing artificially high collection charges under section 45(4) of the same act. However, the court dismissed the application for judicial review on the basis that the Council had exercised its discretion to fix such charges in accordance with the Wednesbury principles and therefore had acted reasonably in setting such a tariff pursuant to section 45(4) of the 1990 Act.


See LINK

Action inspires action. Stay ahead of the curve with sustainability and energy newsletters from edie

Subscribe