Charge could ‘reward recycling’

11 January 2007

The Local Government Association is renewing calls for a separate ‘pay as you throw’ levy for waste collection as an alternative to raising council tax, amid new figures revealing that the UK is the ‘waste capital of Europe’.
The LGA this week launched its War on Waste campaign to raise awareness of the landfill issue and push for a radical overhaul of the amount of rubbish that is produced and thrown away.
Under the EU Landfill Directive, councils face fines of up to £150 per tonne of rubbish that is sent to landfill sites, and the LGA wants to directly charge those responsible for the waste.
By introducing a separate charge for waste collection instead of raising council tax, residents would effectively be rewarded for recycling, the LGA says. It also wants manufacturers of products such as nappies, batteries and throw-away cameras to pay towards the cost of their disposal, because such items cannot be recycled.
Councillor Paul Bettison, chairman of the LGA Environment Board, said: ‘It is time manufacturers were made to take full responsibility for the life cycle of their products. It is totally unacceptable that the council taxpayer is picking up the bill for business. The Government should ensure that it is the polluter, and not people, who pays.’
The UK dumps around 27M tonnes of household rubbish each year, more than any other European country and seven million more than Italy, the second-worst offender.
Germany dumps only 10 million tonnes of waste in rubbish tips, despite having a population 25% larger than in the UK. An area the size of Warwick is already taken up by landfill, and if the current trend continues, the UK will run out of landfill space in less than nine years, the LGA warns.
Bettison added: ‘Councils want a power, not a duty, so authorities can decide what’s best for their local areas. It’s not about paying more, it’s about paying in a different way. It’s also fairer.’
Details of the LGA’s waste proposal will be outlined in an upcoming report, due for release later this month.

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