Defra Defends Landfill Tax

To date, the landfill tax has proven to be successful in reducing waste: the waste sent to landfills fell by 18% between 2001 and 2006.

On Wednesday a new LGA study was published, calling for an overhaul of the landfill tax. There have been comments that the tax could negatively affect council recycling efforts. A spokeswoman for Defra said it was an act of “scaremongering”.

The spokeswoman referred to the fact that the tax has already been a success, achieving huge benefits in the UK.

She said: “We expect recycling to be higher, not lower, as a result of the landfill tax escalator. By 2010 the escalator will be reducing the climate change impact of landfill by the equivalent of 800,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year. There will be further benefits through resources saved by increased levels of recycling.

“The landfill tax has been very successful: waste to landfill fell by 18% between 2001 and 2006,” she stressed.

The spokeswoman added that there was “no reason” for councils to be forced to pay fines for failing to divert waste from landfill, because England is on track to meet its recycling targets.

She said: “The LGA story is scaremongering. England is making good progress towards EU landfill targets so there is no reason why local authorities should face financial penalties. The Government has already allocated £1.3bn in PFI credits to waste infrastructure projects, with a total of £2bn available over the next three years.”

For more information, visit: defra.gov.uk or lga.gov.uk