'Community rewards' could boost recycling rates » Environment » 24dash.com

The Government should back financial rewards to communities which increase recycling instead of controversial "pay-as-you-throw" bin charges to cut waste, a report urged today.

The New Local Government Network's (NLGN) study said "introducing penalising charges for waste will not assist in the amount of rubbish society throws away".

Instead the think tank recommended community incentives and rewards such as grants to improve street lighting or children's equipment for a local park.

The NLGN also said the Government should introduce a new generation of incineration plants to divert rubbish from landfill to generating electricity.

The Time to Waste report suggests that anything from 10 large-scale incinerators to 200 smaller community "anaerobic digestion" plants which use organic waste to create biogas might be needed.

Communities should be given financial incentives such as a £50 discount on energy bills to host local energy-from-waste plants, the report suggested.

Councils could also do more to inform householders about the need to cut the amount of rubbish they throw out, for example by indicating waste charges separately on council tax bills so people see how much it costs, the NLGN said.

In a bid to cut the amount of rubbish going to landfill, the Government announced a series of pilot projects last November to encourage people to recycle more by charging to collect waste.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said that under the schemes, residents who throw away the least amount of rubbish would receive a rebate and those throwing away the most could pay more.

The success of the schemes would be assessed before making a decision on whether they will be introduced more widely, Defra said.

Plans for what critics describe as a "bin tax" had earlier descended into chaos when Downing Street stepped in to block an announcement giving the idea a full green light.

Today, NLGN director Chris Leslie said households should be given a positive incentive to reduce the amount of rubbish they throw away, rather than being "persecuted" by individual fines.

"By offering local communities financial incentives, residents would be able to benefit their locality as well as the wider environment."

He continued: "With Landfill Tax increasing year on year and some authorities spending millions of pounds dealing with the problem of rubbish disposal, it is clear that the Government has to adopt a new approach to this challenge."

He said while none of the options the think tank had examined were simple, switching to creating energy from waste was the "greenest, most efficient solution" to the problem.

Responding to the report, Paul Bettison, chairman of the Local Government Association Environment Board, said: "Financial incentive schemes should be exactly what they say on the tin.

"Any council that looks to introduce these measures will do so to promote recycling and reward local people who do their bit for the environment. No resident need lose out provided they are prepared to recycle," he said.

He added: "There will be parts of the country where these schemes are not appropriate, but the final decision should be made by local councils in response to local need and in consultation with local people.

"The Government's lack of clarity about whether the pilot schemes will go ahead has been unhelpful."

Environment Minister Joan Ruddock said that while the report was a useful addition to the waste debate, she was disappointed that it contained "a number of inaccuracies and misconceptions".

She said: "It urges Government to 'use financial incentives to encourage recycling' and asserts that 'introducing penalising charges for waste will not assist'.

"This misunderstands the Government's proposals. It is our intention to allow five pilot schemes to incentivise recycling by giving rebates to those who recycle and only charging those who refuse to do so.

"Evidence from such schemes in other countries is that they do indeed produce a substantial rise in household recycling rates."

She also said anaerobic digestion was the Government's preferred form of gaining energy from waste, and grants and incentives were in place to boost its development.