Glass and tyres in line for part of 35m sustainability fund

Details of the allocation come in the Pre-2001 Budget Report which was issued as the Chancellor delivered his pre-budget speech to the House of Commons.

Now, the Chancellor is to consult on how to maximise the environmental benefits of the fund to make sure it complements the benefits of the Aggregates Levy which comes into force in April 2002.

The virtues of the Aggregates Levy including encouraging the use of waste glass and tyres in aggregate mixes were featured in the report which said that the fund aims to address “the environmental costs of aggregates extraction and encourage the use of recycled materials”.

According to the report, the levy “will bring about environmental benefits by making the price of aggregates better reflect their true social and environmental costs, and encouraging the use of alternative materials which would otherwise have to be landfilled, thus reducing the amount of extraction. “

Mr Brown (pictured below) also revealed that a recent survey undertaken by the Environment Agency shows that there is still scope for additional use of construction and demolition wastes.

It also found there is also significant scope for using more materials such as china clay waste and colliery spoil which scar the landscape.

It is thought that rather that some of the 35 million could be channelled towards the WRAP project (Waste Resources Action Programme) for development of the use of glass and tyres in aggregates.

Within the recycling industry, however, there is some conflict of views over the development of the aggregate sector. While new markets are urgently needed for tyres, some bottlemakers are concerned that they may lose material while some glass collectors consider that there will soon be a shortage of even green glass for recycling.

Landfill Tax

The Chancellor’s report also reitereated comments within the Waste Strategy 2000 over how little money from the Landfill Tax Credits system is going towards the recycling and composting of household waste.

The Pre-Budget report noted that the government’s strategy is to use the Landfill Tax credits system to deliver sustainable waste management. “But so far in 2000, the proportion of credits being allocated to sustainable waste management have been falling. In line with the commitments made in the waste strategy, the Government intends to explore how resources going through the scheme could be better used to increase recycling rates, particularly of household waste.”

Further details of the pre-2001 budget statement can be found at The Treasury