BUSINESSES in Blaenau Gwent could see a rise in their council waste costs from April under new proposals to be considered by a council committee this week.

A meeting of Blaenau Gwent council’s executive committee on Wednesday will consider a report proposing an increase in commercial refuse charges by 2.5 per cent.

Under the proposals, churches and chapels could also be hit with commercial waste charges - despite having enjoyed free collections up until now.

A total of 201 commercial properties in Blaenau Gwent currently have refuse and recycling agreements with the council, meaning they pay refuse collection and disposal costs 26 weeks in advance.

Because of an increase in the costs to treat waste, the report from the Waste Officer said the council needs to find £5,518.40 to meet the 2015/16 budget shortfall.

The report’s recommended option is a 2.5 per cent increase in waste charges which would bring in an extra £8,373.28 for the council. Recycling charges would stay the same.

According to the report, this option would “cover the current service budget pressure and also maintain the number of commercial recycling customers...and ensure there is no decrease to the local authority’s recycling rate”.

The report also proposed introducing new waste charges for churches and chapels at the same reduced rate as charities, generating an extra income for the council of £4,446.

But at a meeting on December 18, the environment economy and infrastructure scrutiny committee did not give their approval to the chapel and church charge, claiming it “could generate negative publicity for the local authority”.

Two other proposed options, which have not been recommended in the report, are to increase commercial refuse costs by five per cent, or reduce the costs by five per cent.

On Wednesday, January 28, the meeting of the executive committee, led by leader of the council, Hedley McCarthy, will discuss the recommendations.