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Bin tax scrapped
7 June 2010
Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has today scrapped plans to allow councils to levy 'pay as you throw' charges for household waste, although the Minister is backing 'rewards' for people who recycle.
Commenting on the announcement Friends of the Earth's Executive Director Andy Atkins said:
"Rewarding people for recycling can help tackle the UK's vast refuse mountain, but it must be part of a wide and comprehensive waste action plan.
"Every resident must have access to an efficient doorstep recycling scheme, with materials separated on collection to maximise the quality of the recyclables.
"Charging people for the waste they generate works well on the continent, where recycling rates are consistently higher than England - it should be introduced here as well."
"But crucially we must urgently cut the amount of waste generated in the first place - we cannot continue to ignore the environmental and economic impacts of our throwaway culture."
Notes to editors:
1. The UK buries and burns at least £650 million of valuable materials every year, materials that could have been saved by reuse and recycling.
2. The Recyclebank reward scheme being adopted by Maidenhead and Windsor council depends on identifying individual households - through a chip in their recycling bin - to allocate rewards. This may not be possible in high density housing where communal recycling facilities exist, meaning those communities would lose out on the reward.
3. Each year we generate about 100 million tonnes of waste from households, commerce and industry.
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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust
Last modified: Jun 2010
