Pay-to-throw rubbish schemes backed

A survey has revealed that two-thirds of people would agree with being charged according to how much rubbish they throw out.A poll found that 38 per cent strongly supported a system in which they paid a reduced council tax rate and were charged directly for the amount of rubbish they produced.The Ipsos Mori survey of 1,028 British adults found that a further 26 per cent "tend to support" the proposals - meaning the more they recycled the less they paid."Save as you throw" proposals will be outlined later by the Local Government Association.It says the schemes, which include pre-paid waste sacks and wheelie bins with microchips, aim to cut waste and encourage more recycling.The association has insisted the "save as you throw" proposals would not be a stealth tax to raise extra cash for councils.The LGA has outlined three different schemes which councils in England could use to cut the amount of rubbish residents throw away.The first would be a system in which householders buy different sized prepaid rubbish sacks - a scheme which could be used in urban areas where wheelie bins are not always practical.The second would be the use of microchips in wheelie bins which would allow the amount of rubbish to be weighed as it was loaded on to the refuse truck. Residents would then be billed for the amount of waste they created.The third option for councils would be a scheme in which householders choose the size of the wheelie bin they use, based on how much rubbish they think they will generate, and are charged accordingly.The LGA said any scheme a council introduced would be dependent on local circumstances and have to be supported by residents.But the association warned taxpayers would bear the brunt of fines of up to £3 billion which will be imposed on councils over the next four years if they did not meet European targets for reducing the amount of waste which ends up in landfill.Cllr Paul Bettison, chairman of the LGA's environment board said: "If councils introduce save-as-you-throw schemes it will be to promote recycling, not generate extra cash through an extra stealth tax."The unfortunate reality is that we must do more to reduce the amount of waste being thrown into landfill."There is now strong public support for schemes that reward people for recycling and councils should be given the power to introduce these where it is appropriate to do so."The schemes would require government legislation before they could be implemented and could be introduced by around 2009/2010, the LGA said.The latest plans to boost recycling and cut waste come after criticism earlier this year of councils switching to "alternate" collections, in which rubbish is picked up on a fortnightly basis alternating with recycling collections.© Independent Television News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.

ITN | August 22, 2007