Speaking at the Labour Party Conference in Brighton on Sunday, Margaret Beckett laid out the party's policy on the environment, saying that Labour stood for “cleaner, greener, safer neighbourhoods”.
Mrs Beckett said that the environment had moved to the top of the political agenda, because “a world with a stable climate is also a world that is safer, more peaceful and ultimately more prosperous”.
Referring to the Clean Neighbourhoods Bill, she said the government would bring in powers to allow local authorities to tackle abandoned cars, litter and fly-tipping. And, she said the government was looking to “find new ways to help people take action that benefits the environment and their quality of life”.
She said: “People want to know what they can do to improve the environment. So to help people recycle more, I am pleased to announce today that we will consult local authorities on voluntary reward schemes for household recycling.”
Mrs Beckett announced the consultation just a few days after environment minister Elliot Morley revealed his own enthusiasm for rewarding householder recycling behaviour (see letsrecycle.com story).
Some councils already run prize draws, entering residents into prize-winning competitions if they use their kerbside recycling services regularly. The consultation could also look into providing councils with the power to reduce householders' Council Tax if they regularly recycle their waste. Mr Morley has indicated that he is not in favour of using financial “sticks” to pressure householders into recycling, however.
Environment Direct
In her speech to Labour Party members, Mrs Beckett also suggested a new helpline information service could be created along similar lines to the NHS Direct service, but giving details about environmental issues and how to recycle.
She said: “We will also consider the creation of an Environment Direct service – to give clear, independent advice to consumers on the environmental impact of the choices they face.”
Mrs Beckett said that the environment is now “at the top of the political agenda”, but that “both the Tories and the Liberals are jumping on the green bandwagon”. She scoffed at the Liberal Democrats for suggesting they would double recycling targets and berated the Conservative leader Michael Howard for being against the Climate Change Levy and against the target to cut emissions by 60% before 2050.
The Secretary of State said the government was about to review its Climate Change Programme “to see what action we need to take to stay on course to meet our ambitious targets”.
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