The warning came after plans for a new recycling centre in the west of the city were rejected through a lack of public support.
As well as next year's Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme, the council warned that rising waste disposal costs and Landfill Tax could mean a 22% increase in Council Tax by 2009/10.
Cllr Daren Hale, Hull's cabinet member for waste issues, said: “I find the situation we are facing as a council very disturbing. Hull council has rolled out blue bin paper collection and black box recycling to every Hull doorstep. Whilst this has shifted the recycling rate, not enough people are taking this opportunity to recycle.”
Under the LATS system, councils throughout England are being set tough limits on the amount of biodegradable municipal waste they can send to landfill (see letsrecycle.com report). These limits are tradable – so councils that need to landfill more than they have allowances for will be able to buy permits.
But because the government has indicated that councils will be fined 200 per tonne for landfilling more than their allocation of landfill allowances, Hull believes its bill next year could mean a 2 million penalty.
Strategy Shortfall
English councils were told this month what their allocation of allowances would be (see letsrecycle.com story), but Hull has warned residents that its shortfall is 10,285 tonnes for 2005/06.
And, with progressively tighter restrictions on landfilling up to 2020, the council said this penalty is likely to rise to 3.7 million in 2006/07 and 11 million in 2009/10. Along with the increase in Landfill Tax and pressures on landfill capacity, Cllr Hales believes the bill the council faces that year could be as high as 30 million more than present.
Cllr Hale said: “30 million is a huge financial penalty for the city council to bear. It equates to 22% on the Council Tax, or more likely equivalent service cuts. It makes a strong case for neighbourhood recycling sites which give greater opportunities to recycle and we will have to push on with this strategy to safeguard other vital services.”
Overall, the LATS system aims to reduce the total amount of municipal waste going to landfill in England from about 15.2 million tonnes in the first year to 12.5 million tonnes in year four. If the trading scheme is a long-term success, this should fall to just 5.2 million tonnes in the year 2020.
Strategy
Hull city council is currently working with the East Riding of Yorkshire council to develop a new long-term waste strategy. Residents are now being consulted, and consultants Enviros have been signed up to look into the best way forward for the two councils.
Six technologies under consideration for the new strategy include anaerobic digestion, autoclaving, advanced thermal treatment, composting, incineration and mechanical biological treatment.
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