Speaking at the LGA's annual conference in Bournemouth, which came to a close today (7th), the Association said UK recycling rates will not rise fast enough if drastic reforms are not introduced to waste funding.
– Lord Bruce-Lockhart, LGA
Sandy Bruce-Lockhart, chairman of the LGA, said that councils could face enormous fines under the Landfill Directive if nothing is done, forcing them to pass the burden on to tax payers.
The warning came as poll commissioned by the association revealed this week that 64% of people would prefer to pay less tax and get charged directly for household waste removal.
A further 77% believe that recycling should become compulsory.
Lord Bruce-Lockhart said: “There needs to be a radical overhaul in the way in which rubbish is thrown away otherwise there is a real danger that Council Tax bills will have to rise and the environment will continue to suffer.”
Powers
The LGA wants local authorities to be given new powers to break away from the current flat-fee contained within Council Tax to cover waste collection services.
As Defra reviews England's long-term waste strategy (see letsrecycle.com story), the LGA is demanding action.
Lord Bruce-Lockhart said: “Local authorities must be given the discretionary powers to help encourage people to take more responsibility for the way they throw their rubbish away. Councils need to be given new powers to charge households directly for the waste they throw away.”
Manifesto
This week has seen the LGA outlining its plans for diverting waste from landfill in a mini manifesto.
Top of the list were new powers to cut Council Tax and charge householders directly for waste collection. The LGA also demands increased funding and tougher producer responsibility.
Lord Bruce-Lockhart said: “Only by offering this power to councils will it be possible to start meeting out duty and to keep our green and pleasant land green and pleasant.”
Producers
The LGA is keen that producers in particular should be made responsible for waste generated by their products. The Association announced that under a new crackdown on unnecessary packaging, a letter will be sent to every supermarket in the country highlighting the need to cut down on packaging.
Packaging producers are eligible for fines of up to 5,000 if they produce excessive packaging, a measure enforced by local authority trading standards officers.
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A survey by trading standards officers found that while one and a half tonnes of packaging is thrown away every second in England alone, a “significant” number of products are overwhelmed by their packaging. The LGA said for some products, packaging made up 96% of the overall goods sold.
Lord Bruce-Lockhart said: “Supermarkets may say that their customers prefer all their products to be wrapped in extra packaging, but they also have a duty to their customers to cut the amount of waste that is produced.”
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