In the letter organised by the environmental organisation Waste Watch, Mr Blair is told that a number of groups representing “a large portion of the waste industry” have come together which shows there is “broad industry support for change to the way we manage resources.” They say that while an increase in the Landfill Tax is welcome, there should be a waste disposal tax.
A spokesman for Waste Watch said that the obvious target for such a tax was incineration and not other methods of handling waste such as composting. The groups say that discussions on the Landfill Tax need to be broadened because it could be an indirect subsidy to other forms of disposal.
Cheapest
The Strategy Unit itself said that the case for an incineration tax should be kept under review. However, contrary to the view of the Waste Watch-led group, it argued that “a significant increase in the landfill tax is unlikely to make incineration the cheapest option for disposing of waste.” Many recyclers see the need for an increase in the Landfill Tax as paramount to helping to drive up recycling rates.
The groups also welcomed what they see as an admission by the government within the Strategy Unity report that there is a “lack of strategic approach to resource use and waste management strategy which has resulted in poor performance in comparison to other countries.”
Agreement
Doreen Fedrigo, research and policy manager at Waste Watch said: “The broad support given by this range of representatives from the waste sector illustrates that here is general agreement about some of the things that the government can do to help us deliver more sustainable resource use and waste management in the UK. We welcome the opportunity to discuss these points, and others, in more detail with the government.”
Industry?
While the groups involved with the letter say they represent a large portion of the waste industry, it would appear that industry – in the usual sense of the word – is not a signatory to the list. There are noticeable absentees from the list of signatories, including the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management, the Confederation of British Industries and the Environmental Services Association.
Members of the group writing to the Prime Minister were: Composting Association, Community Composting Network, Community Recycling Network, Friends of the Earth, Furniture Recycling Network, Local Government Association and Waste Watch.
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