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Councils dismiss 'pay-as-you-throw' recycling schemes

Pay-as-you-throw recycling has failed to gain the support of local authorities, as the government revealed no councils in England signed up to proposed pilot schemes before the 21 January deadline.

The Climate Change Act, which was passed in November, provided for five councils to trial financial incentives to encourage more recycling and fine those households that don't recycle.

But the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said yesterday that no councils had put themselves forward for the scheme.

The Local Government Association was "unsurprised" that no councils had taken part because central government had not provided sufficient information about how the trials would work, but said it was vital householders continued to recycle.

"Evidence from America and the continent has shown these schemes can boost recycling and reward those households that do their bit for the environment," said LGA deputy chair Cllr Richard Kemp.

"In the absence of any steer ahead of the deadline, local councils were understandably reluctant," he added.

A Defra spokeswoman told Packaging News, however, that the government had not ruled out financial incentives altogether, as the power for local authorities to do so was still included in the Act.

"If a local authority came forward with a sensible proposal we'd consider it. It's completely up to them if they want to do it," she added.

Waste management company Veolia Environmental Services is "actively exploring incentives" to help boost recycling rates.

Deputy chief executive Paul Levett told Packaging News: "I think that the concept of an incentive is a better idea than introducing a penalty for those who don't recycle."

"A penalty will create bad feeling and bad publicity for councils. It would be better to encourage people to recycle for positive reasons," he added.