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Money From MuckNew Ground 64
The waste we produce could double in a generation unless something is done to slow its growth soon. That creates a compelling case for raising waste taxes – and the Chancellor could do with the cash. Dunstan Hope investigates how much progress the government is making. The statistics tell us that waste remains one of the most difficult environmental problems for the government to solve. The UK generates 29 million tonnes of domestic waste every year, of which an incredible 81% is sent to landfill. Only 11% is composted or recycled; the rest is incinerated. The figure to really shock is the annual growth of our waste generation, which DEFRA estimates to be about 3%. This is enough to double our waste by 2024. These trends are clearly not sustainable and must be reversed. But how? We can "burn the problem" by constructing more waste incinerators. But these are deeply unpopular and produce similar greenhouse gas emissions to gas-fired power stations. Or we can reduce the problem by decreasing the amount of waste produced in the economy and using alternative solutions such as increased recycling and composting. SERA’s most recent briefing on waste policy sets out a new fiscal framework to do just that. SERA has put forward eight proposals:
The Chancellor’s Pre-Budget Report in November 2002 presented the ideal opportunity to make progress on waste policy. How did the solutions stack up? Firstly, there were excellent long-term signals for the landfill tax, which is to be increased by "at least £3 per tonne" from 2005-06 and reach a "medium- to long-term rate of £35 per tonne". This proposed rate is more than even SERA lobbied for and must be warmly welcomed. The problem remains the speed of the increase. We would like a more rapid escalation and more revenues flowing into recycling schemes up front. Welcome also is reform of the landfill tax credit scheme. At least £110m a year is to be allocated to reducing the growth of waste volumes, increased kerbside recycling and secondary market development. For incineration, the Chancellor will review the environmental and health effects of all waste management and disposal options and consider how the use of economic instruments can be extended to provide a more coherent framework for waste management. SERA welcomes this review and will be lobbying for some specific proposals – though we would prefer more action and less reviewing. On variable charging and household waste taxation, the Chancellor has kicked the issue into the long grass by ruling out a national scheme and merely noting the conclusion of the Policy Innovation Unit report that local authorities "should be able to develop innovative waste minimisation solutions". In response, SERA will be calling for enabling legislation to be introduced that would allow local authorities to pioneer variable charging schemes. A disappointment was the absence of any proposals for a plastic-bag tax, even though one has been so successfully introduced in Ireland (see opposite). The sheer scale of the waste policy challenge should not be underestimated – indeed, the lifestyle changes required are ones that governments will always find it difficult to advocate. So the Chancellor deserves great credit for initiating reforms that go a significant way towards fulfiling SERA’s objectives for waste policy. But it must be recognised that the problem requires tougher action and more money, especially for recycling and waste reduction. After the Chancellor’s announcement, waste policy remains a classic case of a lot done, a lot more to do. Dunstan Hope is a SERA vice chair. See the waste briefing, Generating Productivity from Waste. |
Convert the landfill tax into a waste disposal tax through taxing incineration.