Councils face £2.25m landfill tax bill due to flood damage

The analysis carried out by the LGA, representing more than 370 councils in England and Wales, showed that the household items, such as carpet and furniture, could not be recycled due to contamination.

Regions such as Lancashire and Cumbria have seen significant flooding since early December. So far, the LGA estimates that around 1.66 tonnes of household goods and freezer waste has had to be removed from the 16,500 homes and businesses in flooded areas.

Local

LGA is now calling for all landfill tax, which is around £82 per tonne, to be returned to local taxpayers to be invested back in to projects that will support local jobs and growth, rather than go to the Treasury.

The LGA plea for help comes despite the Department for Communities and Local Government already stating it would foot the landfill bill for flood hit councils, after the question was raised by letsrecycle.com (see letsrecycle.com story).

The association said in a statement that it, “hopes the government will be applying for EU solidarity funding to help those communities who are affected,” as they struggle to recover from the severe storms.

In addition, the LGA predicts that councils will need financial support in general as the repair for roads and bridges is estimated to run into hundreds of millions of pounds.

Damaged

LGA Environment spokesman, councillor Peter Box, said: “Councils have been pulling out all the stops to help businesses and households that have been ravaged by the floods. This has included taking about 30,000 tonnes of flood damaged household goods, like furniture and freezer waste, to landfill sites.

“As these items are ‘contaminated’ with floodwater, councils cannot recycle them and they have to be taken to landfill sites – which is costing millions.

“We are calling on government to allow councils to keep all of this landfill tax. This money could make a major difference in helping councils to continue their sterling work with the massive clear-up and returning households and businesses to normality.

“Even now, council staff are also preparing for the possibility of further severe storms to ensure the safety of residents, homes and businesses, shore up flood defences, and protect road networks and power supplies as much as possible. People should keep an eye on council websites and social media feeds for updates on the situation in their local areas.”