Tories push voucher idea as legislation is debated

But, the process was seized upon by the Conservative Party as taking environmental policy “in the wrong direction”.

John Gummer, a former secretary of state for the environment, and chair of the Conservative's environment policy group, said: “This amendment should be put through as incentives not as penalties. If people think of this as an encumbrance it will make them more miserable. We need to provide enthusiasm and this can be achieved through a positive approach.”

Mr Gummer, who was speaking at the annual reception of the Environment Industries Commission in London, suggested that the UK adopt approaches seen in some parts of continental Europe and the US “giving people vouchers for recycling more. These are a universal product and are better than the rather distant prospect that at the end of the year the council will come back and reduce your council tax a little.”

Penalties

Speaking after the event, shadow secretary of state for the environment, Peter Ainsworth, told letsrecycle.com that he fully agreed with what John Gummer had said.

Mr Ainsworth said: “If you impose penalties on people, they will seek to avoid them. If you give them incentives they will enjoy them and you will encourage them.”

The shadow secretary also endorsed the idea of vouchers and cited the Recyclebank scheme found in the US, which is proposed by London Mayor Boris Johnson (see letsrecycle.com story) as a “good example of a way to offer vouchers.”

Mr Ainsworth also commented on food waste, wondering why the Prime Minister Gordon Brown had chosen to publicise the issue this week. He said: “People don't need to be lectured by the Prime Minister on what is in their fridge. We knew this already from work done by WRAP earlier this year.”

However, Mr Ainsworth conceded that action needs to be taken to tackle food waste and said a number of things need to be done at a time when with rising prices, the market may also help take care of the food waste issue.

He advocated the profile raising of the issue and said that while “buy one get one free offers are fine for tins and frozen goods, offering them on fresh strawberries and other products often means waste is created. There is also the packaging issue for supermarkets and it is hard to buy single portions for just one person.”

• Today's discussion of the Climate Change Bill was also expected to see measures discussed which would allow for the creation of the London Waste and Recycling Board.