Archived press release

Double whammy hits council tax payers. Government Told: Provide Funds for Recycling

22 September 2005

The Government's new waste strategy - reported in today's Daily Telegraph - will cost Council Tax payers up to £140 million every year for the next 20 years, Friends of the Earth calculated today. FOE want the Government to find the extra cash needed to provide every household in UK with a decent, convenient recycling scheme. The UK has one of the worst recycling rates in Europe, only recycling 8 per cent of household waste compared to 53 per cent in Switzerland, 45 per cent in the Netherlands and Austria, and 34 per cent in Austria.

For every tonne of waste that is sent to landfill, a tax of £11 is paid to the Treasury. With every household in Britain producing around a tonne of waste, and 85 percent of waste going to landfill, this equates to an a cost for each household of around £10 in increased council tax. The tax is planned to increase by £1 a year for the next three years. The Government's waste strategy, which sets non-statutory targets for local authorities to recycle 30 per cent of household waste by 2010, will not include any new money to help local authorities invest in recycling.

The Government is obliged by EU law to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill by 65 per cent by 2020. Friends of the Earth warns that local authorities will invest in scores of new incinerators instead of recycling, because this is the cheaper option. Communities across the country are already fighting plans for new incinerators because of fears of pollution.

Mike Childs, Senior Waste Campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said:

“The Government is hitting Council Tax payers with a double whammy. They want Council Tax payers to pay to meet the targets in the new waste strategy, but they are also sitting on the proceeds of the landfill tax. Cash-strapped Councils won't be able significantly to increase recycling without new money. This new strategy will leave most people in the UK with one of the poorest recycling services in Europe.It will increase conflict across the country as local communities across the country campaign against scores of polluting incinerators. In short, this new waste strategy is rubbish. The Government should throw it away and start again.”

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust