As the cost of landfill tax increases again, Gloucestershire County Council is encouraging people to do all they can to reduce, reuse and recycle their rubbish.
From this month (April), landfill tax – that’s the tax we’re charged for burying waste in the ground – rises to £56 per tonne. In 2010/11 the council forked out £7 million in landfill taxes but with the price hike the bill for 2011/12 could be as much as £8 million if the amount of rubbish buried doesn’t reduce. Every year, the cost of landfill tax rises by £8 for every tonne buried so it gets more and more expensive to landfill waste.
On top of this, councils also have a decreasing allowance for the amount of biodegradable waste buried and for every tonne above this allowance the council could face a fine of £150.
Alongside the cost issues, landfill is not a sustainable option for dealing with the county’s real rubbish – the rubbish leftover when we have reduced, reused, recycled and composted all we can – because it’s harmful to the environment.
Gloucestershire County Council aims to reach 70% recycling of its household rubbish by 2030 and it will be working with district councils to help encourage residents to do their bit. As a county, Gloucestershire currently recycles 46% of all household rubbish.
Cllr Stan Waddington, cabinet member for environment and waste, said: “One of the biggest financial pressures we’re facing at the moment is the cost of dealing with our household waste. With landfill tax going up every year, it’s getting more and more expensive to bury our rubbish underground. We’re already working on an alternative solution for disposing of our real rubbish, but alongside that solution we need to recycle as much as we can. This council has supported an extremely ambitious recycling target of 70% and we’re only going to reach that if people take responsibility for their waste by reducing, reusing, recycling and composting all they can.”
For more information visit www.recycleforgloucestershire.com.
