People in the Black Country and Staffordshire see more waste go to landfill per person than nearly 10 years ago - despite efforts to encourage recycling.
New Government figures show that each person in the area sends an extra 51kg.
The average person in Wolverhampton sent 620kg of waste to landfill in 2006/07, compared to 547 in 1998/99. The amount from Walsall also went up from 514kg to 568kg per person, during the same period.
Sandwell showed a rise from 443kg to 488kg, in Dudley too from 422kg to 471kg, and for Staffordshire, where the load rose from 548kg to 621kg.
Data was released by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to MPs, after a probe by Liberal Democrats.
It is feared a tough regime of government fines for landfill use will lead to council tax rises, unless councils make dramatic improvements. The tax on waste dumped in landfill sites is increasing by 33 per cent a year for four years, with councils facing having to pay up to £150 a tonne over a set quota by 2010.
Julia Goldsworthy, Lib Dem local government spokeswoman, said: “It is not just about being seen to be making the effort to recycle more of the waste.
“There are big questions about how we tackle waste in the first place.
“As a result of the landfill tax, the more rubbish people throw out, the more people’s council tax is going to go up.”
The Government should set down tough guidelines for manufacturers in a bid to drive down the amount of wasteful packaging, she said. “At the moment the incentives just aren’t there for the commercial sector,” she added.
A Defra spokesman said: “Many householders and local authorities have got the ‘reduce, reuse and recycle’ message and are doing a great job. The latest statistics show that in England, local authorities have increased national recycling and composting rates to 31 per cent and disposed of 1 million tonnes less waste in landfill in 2006/07, compared to 2005/06.
“If we are to combat the negative impacts of climate change, under-performing local authorities everywhere must do more to help their residents reduce their rubbish and recycle more from their homes.”
7 Comments
Thix waste tax isn’t shouted from the roof-tops like other stories contained in Labour’s election leaflets..
Nothing will convince me that any government or council, want to stop people from filling up landfill sites as long as people who remove items from landfill sites are being prosecuted.
If they are against people filling up land with what they class as rubbish, why would they want to stop people from removing items from dumps that can be reused or recycled, doesn’t sound to me that they are really genuine in their reasons, and I suspect it has more to do with excuses to raise money when landfill targets cant be met.
Jim of Bearwood
these figures are most likely wrong so they can tax us more
Sandwell MBC should empty the recyle boxes then instead of thinking of lame excuses not too and ontime as well a good thing
I do love to recycle and have done for a few years now. The government and councils just want to make more cash off us. A well known tv advert on recycling keeps saying that every can/bottle recycled saves 10 minutes electricity of use of say a washing machine. This electricity I saved is sold back to me with hyped inflation and vat ! So where is my and others incentive to recycle, when we are shafted anyway for doing the right thing ? We don’t get anything for recycling, no vouchers to spend at local shops or a reduction in council tax.
Also where is the £400 green tax on 4X4 cars going ? EEC to combat car polution, research into greener fuels, other investment into green solutions ? No just another tax to pay Peter, or Paul. I am not just blaming Labour, they all do it or would do it if in power. So once a charge is put in place for an extra binbag,etc normal householders will be fly tipping or burning the extra rubbish. Don’t just tax everyone, give an incentive to the people who do recycle regularly and watch the others join in.
So the UK is all about tackling climate change? It matters not one ounce what people in the UK do thanks to the likes of the USA and China. 1 step forward from the UK Population and 10 steps back from the rest of the world.
People in the UK are doing it just to feel good about themselves. You just need to get the message across to the rest of the world, then it WILL make an impact.
Until then expect the cost of living to shoot sky high all for the sake of trying to save the planet from wannabe Earth headquarters, the UK.
Where is the encouragement to recycle? I recycle as mush as I can but the one box that the council has provided is a ridiculous size and way too small. Yet you call them for another and they have ‘run out’. What a convnience, for them. Why don’t they start spending our council tax on useful things that we, the public, are going to benefit from.