09 May 2008
Amid continuing confusion over the government's attitude to local recycling incentives, a report this week calls for urgent action to reduce landfill.
The report, Time to waste: tackling the landfill challenge, published by the New Local Government Network on May 9, says only 20% of household rubbish in Britain is recycled and that the country sends more waste to landfill than any other European country.
It calls for an emphasis on recycling incentives through community grants, and argues for a shift towards creating energy from waste incineration plants. Acknowledging that these plants can be unpopular, the report proposes energy bill discounts for residents close to incineration facilities.
To avert European Union fines for failing to reduce waste going to landfill by 2012, ten large and 200 smaller plants would be needed, the report suggests.
NLGN director Chris Leslie said: 'None of the options we looked at are simple, but switching away from burying rubbish to creating energy from waste is the greenest, most efficient solution.'
The Local Government Association had earlier reacted angrily to reports that the government was going back on a commitment to allow councils to pilot incentives for people to reduce, reuse and recycle waste.
A maximum of five local authorities, using powers in the Climate Change Bill, would be granted permission to pilot such schemes, dubbed 'pay-as-you-throw'. None has so far been identified, but the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs insisted this week that nothing had changed.
A Defra spokeswoman said: 'We will evaluate the impact of those pilots before making a final decision on whether other local authorities can introduce similar schemes.'
Paul Bettison, chair of the LGA's environment board, said: 'Any council that looks to introduce these measures will do so to promote recycling and reward local people who do their bit for the environment.'
Bettison said the final decision on whether schemes were appropriate should be made at local level, while increases in landfill tax being progressively imposed threatened the ability of local authorities to invest in recycling facilities.
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