Morning:
13°c
An awesome and ridiculous film that leaves you thrilled beyond the point of your natural endurance
London faces a wave of bus and Tube strikes that could cause chaos for millions of passengers as unions walkout over pay and conditions
More...
£150 bill to keep weekly bin collection
Last updated at 11:37am on 01.05.07
The price of maintaining weekly rubbish collections will be £150 a year on council tax bills, say government chiefs
The price of maintaining weekly rubbish collections will be £150 a year on council tax bills, local government chiefs has warned.
They said Gordon Brown's "stealth" taxes on the use of landfill sites were piling financial pressure on town halls to order an end to weekly collections.
Councils have little choice but to introduce fortnightly rubbish pickups and compulsory recycling schemes, it was claimed.
Rises in landfill tax over the next six years mean local authorities must set aside £3.2billion more than they do now to dump rubbish, the analysis by the Local Government Association found.
This is the equivalent of £150 on every council tax bill, it said.
On top of this, town halls face huge fines from 2010 if they fail to meet strict EU recycling targets.
The LGA warned that even if recycling is increased, taxpayers still face paying more to have their perishable rubbish collected - especially if weekly collections are maintained.
Chairman Lord Bruce-Lockhart said: "This new analysis clearly demonstrates the huge financial problems facing councils because of the escalating cost from landfill tax.
"The fear is that householders could ultimately pick up the cost of this.
"Councils will be working with local residents to work out exactly what sort of waste service and approach is needed to minimise the three billion pound bill."
The huge scale of payments the Chancellor is demanding in taxes on landfill was revealed amid growing concern over the impact of fortnightly rubbish collections. One in three homes now has their perishable refuse collected only once a fortnight.
The Daily Mail's campaign for the return of weekly collections has highlighted attempts by ministers to strip taxpayers of their right to vote on rubbish collections by shifting powers to collect waste from councils to unelected quangos.
The "great bin revolt" campaign has also exposed plans to hire private contractors to supply armies of uniformed "bin police" with powers to issue £100 on-the-spot fines to families who break the rules.
The Treasury already takes nearly £800million a year in landfill taxes, most of it from local authorities. The tax is set to rise radically - the Chancellor increased the annual escalator, or amount it goes up, from £3 to £8 in his March Budget.
Operational spending in line with inflation will mean councils will have to set aside £3.2billion for dealing with rubbish by 2013.
EU recycling targets, to come into force in 2010, will cost town halls another £100 a ton for material sent to landfill over the levels set by Brussels.
Lord Bruce-Lockhart added: "For council tax payers there are two solutions.
"One is that the Chancellor could put some money back in to help councils and council tax payers from the amount he is taking in landfill taxes.
"The other is to reduce the amount of rubbish we send to landfill.
"Councils need to recycle more and manufacturers and retailers need to show greater restraint on the amount of packaging they use."
The Local Government Association says that fortnightly collections lead to higher recycling rates.
However, the Daily Mail showed last week that the LGA's own figures-suggest that councils which collect rubbish weekly can still achieve high recycling rates with voluntary schemes.
Lord Bruce-Lockhart added: "Even if councils work with their residents and increase recycling to 40 per cent, they are still going to be left paying tax on the rest of the waste that ends up in landfill.
"The ultimate solution is to reduce the total volume of waste that we produce."
Reader views (7)
The comments by the LGA about costs of waste treatment cannot pass unchallenged. The reason for the increase in charges is due to the failure to divert residual biodegradable matter in waste (the bmw after recycling) currently landfilled by dates agreed by Waste Authorities and Councils. The industry continues to promote incineration or energyfromwaste (EfW) plants for this raising public environmental and economical concerns and delays. These are environmentally unsustainable and inordinately expensive, as the Bexley and other examples show in capital and operational costs. They require subsidy in increased treatment costs, sale of energy and long PFI contracts all to meet banking issues. Who pays? The Public (Paymasters) in increased Council Taxes. EfW plants are financial 'mill stones' hanging around the public's neck, but it need not be so! We have the technology to treat this waste in a manner which is both environmentally and economically acceptable. It will produce a desirable product from the biomass, bmw, in waste in large quantities so as to provide a revenue stream from its sale to offset the costs for treating waste offering Real Council Tax Reductions within four to six years of start-up without subsidies. Is it a reality? Yes! The process turns biomass into the fuel ethanol. It was first used in the 20th century to make ethanol from non food crops to support grain ethanol. Turning Waste to ethanol is the only way to Reduce Council Tax Burden to the Public.
- Phurrll, High Wycombe
I'm not paying any extra. I pay enough already and will dispose of it elsewhere.
- Simon, London
If people didn't vote against incinerators being built, and we had more of those and biowaste digesters, there would be far less need for landfill without complicated recycling efforts.
- Nanos, London UK
Could someone please explain what exactly I am getting for paying over a grand a year to Lambeth Council?
- Lb, London
The problem is that the people at the top (Gordon) are idiots and only care about themselves and nothing and nobody else. Never have, never will.
- Jay, London
"Lord Bruce-Lockhart added: "For council tax payers there are two solutions."
I've got another 2.
Get rid of Gordon and his stealth taxes, stick 2 fingers up at the EU fines - it works for France.
- Andy, London
I fail to see why the non-recyclable rubbish can't be burnt in power stations. The waste gases are likely to be unpleasant and these could be captured and disposed of carefully. The advantage is none of the rubbish would end up in land fill and it would reduce our power station requirements on fossil fuels.
- John, Harrow,
