Councils demand more recycling support from retailers

” Retailers may say that they are responding to their customers' wishes to have goods packaged but they also have a duty to their customers to cut the amount of waste produced. “
– Cllr David Sparks, LGA
And, the Local Government Association said today that “bold reform” is needed in the funding of council waste services to prevent UK landfill rates from affecting Council Tax levels.

The LGA unveiled a four-point plan at its annual recycling conference today in London. It believes the measures will be necessary if the UK is to meet its European Landfill Directive requirements to cut landfill rates.

The Association is calling for:

• Extra powers for councils to charge households directly for the waste they throw away, with reduced rates for less waste.
• Producers to fund collections for packaging waste, waste electronics and batteries.
• Strong action to encourage consumers to cut down on using disposable products.
• More funding for council waste services through the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review.

Retailers
But retailers – and in particular supermarkets – have a “massive role to play” in cutting down on household waste, the LGA said.

Cllr David Sparks, chair of the LGA's environment board, said: “Supermarkets have a massive role to play in helping us meet this challenge. Millions of tonnes of unnecessary waste packaging is being thrown out which costs tax payers millions each year to throw away.

“Retailers may say that they are responding to their customers' wishes to have goods packaged but they also have a duty to their customers to cut the amount of waste produced to help save taxpayers money, cut emissions and reduce the amount of landfill taken up by unnecessary wrapping,” Cllr Sparks said.

Funding
The LGA said the amount of waste requiring collection is increasing by 3% every year and will cost councils more than 2.5 billion to collect and dispose of this year.

Annual waste management costs for councils are rising by 314 million each year, it added.

The Association wants producers and consumers to pay more for waste management in the UK. This would include both more producer responsibility and “pay as you throw” variable charging schemes.

The LGA is also supporting the use of visible fees on the sale of new goods to help cover waste management costs.

Cllr Sparks said: “For decades people have thrown away their rubbish without worrying about the consequences. This can't carry on. Like the challenge of coming to terms with global warming and climate change, the disposal of our millions of tonnes of waste presents us with an urgent need to start changing the way we live our lives.

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LGA

“Councils must also be given the discretionary powers to help encourage people to take more responsibility for the way they throw away their rubbish.

“Councils need to given new powers to charge households directly for the waste they throw away,” he added.