Waste charge will not be stealth tax

30 Aug 07
'Save-as-you-throw' waste collection schemes will not be exploited by local authorities as a way of generating extra cash, council leaders claimed last week.

31 August 2007

'Save-as-you-throw' waste collection schemes will not be exploited by local authorities as a way of generating extra cash, council leaders claimed last week.

As the Local Government Association published proposals on how such schemes might work in practice, it also squared up to criticisms that linking financial rewards to waste collection would provide councils with an opportunity to introduce taxation through the back door.

Paul Bettison, chair of the LGA's environment board, said: 'If councils introduce save-as-you-throw schemes, it will be to promote recycling, not to generate extra cash through a stealth tax.

'There will be parts of the country where save-as-you-throw schemes are not appropriate, and the final decision must be made by councils in response to local need and in consultation with local people.'

Proposals published on August 22 outlined three schemes that English councils might consider to cut the amount of waste going into landfill to meet European Union targets.

The first is a sack-based system, in which householders buy different-sized prepaid sacks.

Option two is a weight-based system, where wheelie bins are fitted with microchips to allow the bins to be weighed when they are loaded on to the vehicle.

The third is volume-based, allowing householders to choose the size of the wheelie bin they think they need and be charged accordingly.

The LGA said evidence from Europe had shown such schemes could drastically reduce the amount of waste going into landfill.

It also published new Ipsos Mori research showing that two out of three people would support a system that rewarded recycling with a lower council tax.

But shadow communities secretary Eric Pickles dismissed this, saying the poll had relied on loaded questions.

'Under the government's plans for bin taxes, there will be no reduction in council tax. The overall burden of taxation will rise so householders will pay more. Labour ministers have already been warned that bin taxes will lead to a huge increase in fly-tipping and backyard burning,' he added.

PFaug2007

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