One of 20 Private Member Bills scheduled for this Parliamentary season, the Bill will call for every local authority to provide a doorstep recycling collection service for every household by 2010.
Ms Ruddock was drawn fifth out of the 20 MPs, but it still remains questionable whether the Bill will succeed – this will depend on whether there is government support for the measure. Currently there are no signals that the government would support the Bill.
Commenting on her decision to take up the Bill, Ms Ruddock said: “People in my constituency and elsewhere want to recycle and do their bit for the environment. By ensuring that every household has a doorstep recycling service, the Doorstep Recycling Bill will make recycling as easy as putting out the rubbish.”
The Bill was originally proposed by environmental pressure group Friends of the Earth (see letsrecycle.com story), which has said that the estimated 17 per household per year of kerbside services could be paid for by the current provision of government funds and the diversion of money from the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme.
Friends of the Earth recycling campaigner Mike Childs said that he hoped the Bill would command unanimous, cross-party support. With the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit waste review expected some time this week, the pressure group is also hoping to gain government backing for the Bill.
“Successive governments have acknowledged the need to dramatically increase the amount we recycle, yet have consistently failed to deliver,” Mr Childs said. “The only way to reach the recycling levels needed to deal with our waste crisis is through providing householders with a convenient doorstep recycling service.”
Friends of the Earth also sees this Bill as a way to combat the demands of the European Landfill Directive targets without resorting to incineration.
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for more information on the Friends of the Earth Recycling Bill.
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