Press Releases

Pay-as-you throw to increase recycling

Email this to a friend Print Delicious Digg Facebook Reddit

20 May 2007

The Government should allow local authorities to introduce a ‘pay-as-you-throw’ fee for collecting un-recyclable rubbish, in next week’s Waste Strategy Review, according to a report by the Institute for Public Policy Research (ippr) and Green Alliance.

The UK is still bottom of the European recycling league - only Greece and Portugal recycle less - despite meeting its 2005 target of recycling 25 per cent of household waste. The report argues that ‘pay-as-you-throw’ is the best way to reach the 60 per cent recycling rates achieved in Germany and the Netherlands, by giving householders a financial incentive to recycle as much of their waste as possible.

A Zero Waste UK sets out seven key tests for the forthcoming Waste Strategy Review. Alongside ‘pay-as-you-throw’ it says the Government should:

Introduce a target to recycle 50 per cent of household waste by 2015, increasing to 60 per cent by 2020.
Improve waste collection systems so that recycling is convenient and good quality. This should be alongside increased enforcement against fly-tipping.
Set a per capita target for non-recycled waste to encourage waste prevention.
Consider bans on sending recyclable material to landfill alongside increases in the landfill tax escalator.
Introduce a product tax on hard-to-recycle products and increase pressure on business to reduce packaging and take responsibility for the whole life of their products.
Offset ‘pay-as-you-throw’ charges with rebates on Council Tax.
Embed waste reduction and recycling in public sector procurement policies.

Julie Hill, Associate of Green Alliance and report author, said:

“Although we have improved our recycling rates the UK is still bottom of the heap in Europe. Next week’s Waste Strategy Review should be used to give local authorities the powers they need to charge for collecting non-recyclable waste. Our European neighbours have shown that where charges are common place, recycling rates will rise.”

Nick Pearce, Director of ippr, said:

“We need a pay-as-you-throw charging system but it has to be fair to households and councils need to collect recycled waste. Businesses need to play their part too. We don’t need all the packaging on the products we buy in shops and supermarkets.”

Municipal waste management in the European Union 2005 (most recent comparable statistics):

Country / Waste per capita (kg) / Landfill (% of total) / Recycled – composted - other (% of total) / Incineration (% of total)

Netherlands / 624 / 1.44 / 65.38 / 33.17
Germany / 601 (e) / 14.81 / 60.57 / 24.63
Austria / 630 (e) / 17.94 / 58.73 / 23.33
Belgium / 464 (e) / 9.27 / 57.33 / 33.41
Luxembourg / 705 (e) / 18.01 / 46.10 / 35.89
Sweden / 482 / 4.77 / 45.02 / 50.21
Spain / 597 (e) / 53.10 / 41.04 / 5.86
Denmark / 737 / 5.16 / 40.98 / 53.87
Ireland / 740 / 60.00 / 40.00 / 0.00
Italy / 542 (e) / 54.61 / 33.95 / 11.44
Finland / 468 / 60.26 / 30.56 / 9.19
France / 543 / 36.10 / 30.02 / 33.89
UK / 584 (e) / 64.21 / 27.40 / 8.39
Portugal / 446 / 62.33 / 15.70 / 21.97
Greece / 438 / 86.76 / 13.24 / 0.00

(e) estimated values

Notes to editors:

A Zero Waste UK was commissioned by ippr from Green Alliance and written by Julie Hill, Ben Shaw and Hannah Hislop.

In Germany some local areas charge around 18 pence per kilo for waste not recycled, with a resulting boost in collection of recyclable materials to more than 65 per cent.

In Sweden, mercury and nickel cadmium batteries are taxed to encourage a switch to alternatives. Since it was introduced in 1991 there has been a 74 per cent reduction in the tonnage of levied batteries sold.

‘Zero waste’ refers to zero waste to landfill and maximum recycling.

Contacts:

Matt Jackson 020 7339 0007 / 07753 719 289 / m.jackson@ippr.org

Richard Darlington 020 7470 6177 / 07738 320 645 / r.darlington@ippr.org