Leave ‘save as you go’ to us, says LGA

23 February 2007

The Local Government Association has slammed suggestions in a leaked Westminster Cabinet dossier for a blanket, ‘pay-as-you-throw’ waste disposal system, saying the proposal was ‘unhelpful and unnecessary’.
The LGA argues that individual councils should be able to choose whether they adopt their own ‘save-as-you-throw’ schemes, as an alternative to raising council tax. Recent newspaper reports detailed a leaked dossier from Number 10’s Strategy Unit which was circulated to members of the Commons liaison committee. The dossier reportedly argued ‘economic incentives’ were being used in other countries to persuade people to recycle more of their waste.
It was also reported that ‘variable charging cuts waste volume by 10% and increases recycling’. However, the LGA insisted that councils, which were at the coalface of working against climate change, had better knowledge and expertise to decide how best to encourage residents to be responsible with their rubbish. ‘The one-size-fits-all approach put forward by Number 10 flies in the face of devolution and giving local people the chance to have their say on the issues that will affect them,’
LGA chair, Lord Bruce-Lockhart said. ‘The proposed waste charging is unhelpful and unnecessary. Councils, not central government, should have save-as-you-throw powers, but it is vital that any authority thinking of introducing this should first make sure there will be no overall increase in council tax, it has public support and measures are in place to prevent fly-tipping.’
A spokeswoman said the LGA had not seen the dossier, so it was not sure whether the blanket system implied increasing council tax. Meanwhile, the association is currently preparing a document which further investigates how the ‘pay-as-you-throw’ system will work. A release date has not been confirmed.

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Leave ‘save as you go’ to us, says LGA

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