Speaking today at the Onyx Environmental Trust’s fourth anniversary lunch, Barry Sheerman MP, who is also Secretary of the Associate Parliamentary Sustainable Waste Group, outlined his campaign to get the Landfill Tax raised as soon as possible.
Mr Sheerman said that the Landfill Tax must increase and said that the fridge fiasco should be a warning as to what will happen if we do not address the waste crisis and start recycling. He said: “Now is the time for action. Otherwise it will all end up on our doorstep.”
Mr Sheerman explained that he would be speaking to the senior economic advisor to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and saying: “We are an environment sector that wants to pay more tax.”
He added: “Unless we get an increase in Landfill Tax, recycling will not happen. The fridge fiasco has alerted everyone to what is coming with WEEE and end-of-life vehicles. This is the single most effective way to move the environmental agenda forward.”
Mr Sheerman also called on campaign groups to promote the recycling cause and said that groups such as Greenpeace should take care not to get their science wrong. And he said that he did not think that the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone was helping by saying that he did not want any more incinerators in London. He said: “I believe incineration has a part to play and I also believe we need a massive increase in recycling. They are not exclusive, we need a balanced approach.”
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