Plans drawn up by Labour to charge households based on how much rubbish they produce, have been scrapped by Communities Secretary, Eric Pickles.
The proposed “bin tax” was aimed at reducing the amount of waste sent to landfill by giving households which recycled the most a rebate, whilst charging those who threw out the most non-recycled rubbish.
However, worries that the tax could encourage fly-tipping and burning rubbish at home has led to the scheme being ruled out. Instead, Mr Pickles is backing a scheme which awards points to households for the amount they recycle; the points can then be redeemed at shops, restaurants and leisure centres, or donated to schools.
The scheme has already been piloted by Windsor and Maidenhead council by installing computer chips in bins to keep track of how much waste households recycle. Mr Pickles said the scheme had increased recycling by 35% and an incentive-based approach was more effective than taxes or fines in reducing the amount of rubbish sent to landfill sites.
Although there has been suggestions that the new Government’s policy does not address the central problem, Dominic Hogg, from Eunomia Research and Consulting said of Mr Pickles’ scheme, “This is not an incentive for households to reduce the waste they generate in the first place, only to recycle more.”
Pay-as-you-throw is still being considered in Wales, but there are no plans for it in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
