Every year in Parliament, 20 MPs are selected to introduce Private Members' Bills in the House to go alongside the Government Bills. The chosen 20 this year include Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee members Mark Todd and Keith Simpson, and Friends of the Earth hope that one of the 20 will take up the Recycling Bill as their bill.
- Click here for the full list of 20 MPs
The Recycling Bill will call for every local authority to provide a doorstep recycling collection service for every household by 2010. This would apply to glass, metal containers, paper and would later be extended to plastics. The bill would also call for every household to be given facilities to compost biodegradable kitchen and garden waste either at home or through collections processed centrally.
Speaking to letsrecycle.com about the bill, Friends of the Earth spokesperson Martyn Williams said he was optimistic, but it would take a lot of work to get their bill accepted by one of the 20 MPs.
“We're going to have to work like crazy,” he said. “The MPs have three weeks to make up their minds, but we have already seen some interest. It's a very popular bill, and there's a great deal of political support out there for it. Obviously we can't guarantee it, but we've been through the Private Member Bill process six or seven times and we've been successful all but once.”
Friends of the Earth believe they have the support of at least 331 MPs for the bill already, with 335 signing an Early Day Motion showing support for a doorstep recycling bill.
“I think we really do stand a good chance,” Mr Williams said. “The government is also likely to add its support since it's likely that the Strategy Unit will recommend some kind of doorstep recycling measures and the government will have to respond.”
The pressure group has said that the cost of a doorstep collection is likely to be around 17 per household per year – around 375 million for England and Wales. Friends of the Earth have suggested that this sum could be paid for by the current provision of government funds and the diversion of money from the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme into the system. The group have said there would be some flexibility for councils to organise their own collection services and awareness campaigns.
Click here
for more information on the Friends of the Earth Recycling Bill.
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