Friends of the Earth demands variable charging on waste

Responding to last week's announcement that English local authorities are recycling almost 23% of household waste (see letsrecycle.com story), the pressure group said instead of charges being included within Council Tax, householders should pay a “variable rate” based on the amount of waste they produce.

” If we are serious about tackling waste then we need to give councils the power to charge householders a variable rate according to the amount they produce. “
– Georgina Bloomfield, FoE
The group believes this would mean that good recyclers would save money while homes which generate excessive waste would pay more than they do under the current system.

According to Friends of the Earth a variable charging scheme would need to be backed up by educational campaigns and help for households on low income. The group has also suggested that doorstep recycling and composting would have to be available for residents before they were included on the scheme.

Incentive
Georgina Bloomfield, recycling campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said: “Most people in the UK pay a fixed rate for waste management in their Council Tax and this means there is no economic incentive for them to reduce their waste or to recycle and compost.

“If we are serious about tackling waste then we need to give councils the power to charge householders a variable rate according to the amount they produce. Such schemes are common in Europe and have dramatically reduced waste and improved recycling rates,” she added.

Friends of the Earth has pointed to the fact that in many countries currently achieving to high recycling rates variable charging is a common practice. While Defra's figures suggest England is currently recycling almost 23% of its household waste, in Germany around 57% of waste is recycled, while the Netherlands is achieving 64% according to Friends of the Earth.

While the UK government has not revealed plans to consider variable charging for waste, it is trialling a number of incentive schemes to encourage householders to recycle more of their waste. The 5 million programme of trials take place this autumn.