23 January 2009
By Alex Klaushofer
The government has been forced to shelve plans allowing local authorities to impose a controversial 'bin tax' after councils effectively boycotted the idea.
Not one of the 388 eligible English local authorities applied to join five schemes to test charging households for filling their bins above a certain weight.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said that the scheme would not now go ahead, although the legislation was in place if local authorities wanted to impose a 'pay-as-you-throw' tax in future.
The idea has been widely rejected by councils, who cited technological difficulties and unpopularity among council tax payers.
But the Local Government Association, which has lobbied for the power as a way of boosting recycling rates, blamed the government's lack of clarity on the workings of the scheme.
Deputy chair Richard Kemp said: 'It is unsurprising that no councils have come forward to take part in the pilots given that Defra has not published its rules for how they must operate.'
PFjan2009
