16 November 2007
The UK dumps more household waste into landfill than any other European Union country and faces onerous fines if it doesn't clean up its act, the Local Government Association has warned.
With the same amount of buried waste as the 18 EU countries with the lowest landfill combined, the UK is officially the 'dustbin of Europe', the LGA said, and bold reforms are needed.
UK households sent 22.6 million tonnes of rubbish to landfill in 2004/05 – the most recent year for which comparable figures are available across the EU.
Although this declined markedly in 2006/07, according to Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs figures, European countries have also been cutting their waste, leaving Britain still at the top of the rubbish heap.
It is already using an area the size of Warwick as landfill – 109 square miles, the LGA said. If radical action is not taken, it could run out of space for rubbish in under nine years.
Paul Bettison, chair of the LGA environment board, said: 'Since 1997, local people, businesses and councils have worked tirelessly to boost recycling rates from 7% to 27%. However, there is still far more that needs to be done if the taxpayer is going to avoid the fines that the EU and central government will impose in the coming years.'
Councils, and consequently taxpayers, face fines of up to £150 per tonne of rubbish sent to landfill sites. According to the National Audit Office, this could add up to some £200m if targets are not reached by 2010.
Councils in England have recently been given the green light to pilot 'pay-as-you-throw' schemes that charge householders who habitually fail to recycle.
Bettison said: 'These powers should help to encourage people to take more responsibility for the way they throw their rubbish away. If councils introduce schemes, it will be to promote recycling, not to generate extra cash.'
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