A BUSINESS owner from Cwmbran is taking recycling into his own hands after being billed £780 for can and bottle collections by Torfaen Council.

Malcolm Gough, 63, owner of the Halfway Hotel, has regularly disposed of large quantities of bottles and cans from his business over 18 years and said he has never been charged for the service before.

Earlier this month, he received a invoice "out of the blue" demanding a sum of £780 for recycling services for a period between Friday, April 1, 2016 to Friday, March 31, 2017. An alternative charge of £15 a week is also offered.

Mr Gough claims that since Torfaen CBC phased out bottle collection 18-months ago, his business has never had a formal council contract for waste collection and is refusing to pay the bill in protest.

As the waste is classed as “commercial waste” the pub-owner, father of former Wales International Rugby Union star, Ian Gough, is forced to take waste disposal into his own hands.

This includes using a heavy metal roller to crush cans before finding alternative methods to safely dispose of them.

“My main concern is the recycling of the cans. Torfaen CBC have already stopped the bottles being recycled and second point is the huge cost that came out of the blue,” he said.

“I think this is wrong and it is the council's duty and they should do it [...] public houses are all struggling throughout Britain and I think there’s 20 – 30 a week that are closing.

“I think £780 will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back for a lot of businesses. What’s around the corner and what’s going to happen next week? Will they charge for the bottles now?

“It will be never-ending and the council will look at other ways of getting money instead of taking on the main government and making a stand. They just pass it on to us and that’s wrong."

“I know a least a dozen businesses have cancelled their contracts with Torfaen CBC over this. This is just the tip of the iceberg," he said.

Cllr Elizabeth Haynes, of St Dials ward, has a contract with Torfaen CBC to dispose of commercial waste from her catering businesses and has used the service for seven years.

“In all that time of being a customer, I have never received retrospective billing. That is concerning is that the council has to evidence that,” she said.

“It is not acceptable to issue a demand for payment if the business owner has not received the service.

“There is possible reason to believe that if he wasn’t a service user in the past then maybe he didn’t receive any communication from Torfaen CBC. That could be part of the problem.”

A council spokesman said: "Collecting trade waste is a non-statutory service that is not covered by business rates and while we have previously offered businesses free recycling collections this is no longer sustainable.

“The introduction of charges for business recycling was agreed by council in 2015 as part of our 2015/16 budget saving measures, and is intended to cover the costs of the service."

He added: "We wrote to businesses in March this year to advise them of the charges and give them time to make alternative arrangements should they wish to do so.

"Businesses are not obliged to use our services and can use a private company if they prefer."