Scotsman: Push for more recycling may mean rubbish collection fee

By Louise Gray

HOUSEHOLDERS could face charges for rubbish collection under recommendations made by the public spending watchdog yesterday to increase recycling in Scotland.

The Audit Scotland report on waste management found recycling rates have increased, with a quarter of rubbish being recycled last year compared with 7 per cent in 2002.

But Scotland is still not recycling enough and, according to the watchdog, is "unlikely" to meet targets on reducing landfill, meaning the country could face fines of millions of pounds.

Among a number of recommendations, the Accounts Commission, which forms part of Audit Scotland, said the Scottish Government should consider charging people for removing their waste.

However, consumer groups insisted taxpayers already pay enough for rubbish collection in their council tax bills.

Last year, Scottish councils sent 1.54 million tonnes of biodegradable waste to landfill. This is a reduction from 1.76 million tonnes in 1995, but nowhere near the 880,000 tonnes target set for 2013, which the government signed up to in 1999.

Achieving the target is made more difficult because the total amount of waste generated in Scotland is increasing by 1.25 per cent every year.

Also, there were "very few" available facilities for treating non-recycled waste, such as incinerators.

Caroline Gardner, the deputy auditor general, said: "As a nation we are now far more environmentally aware. Councils and the Scottish Government have played a key role in encouraging and enabling the public to recycle, with considerable success.

"A quarter of household waste is recycled, with four out of five people taking part. Yet the amount of waste we produce continues to grow. It is unlikely Scotland will be able to meet the EU landfill target for 2013 as there has been slow progress in developing facilities to treat the waste we don't recycle.

"Decisions on how landfill volumes will be reduced need to be taken by the Scottish Government as a matter of urgency."

Failure to meet the target could result in the UK government being fined up to £180 million a year and this cost could be passed onto councils.

The watchdog notes charging for waste collection is "controversial" and acknowledges concerns it could lead to an increase in fly-tipping or dumping as people try to dodge payment.

It also notes that charging householders could be difficult in tenements with communal waste collection, and there are "concerns" over how large families, the poor, and pensioners would be affected.

However, the report concludes: "The Scottish Government and councils should undertake research to assess the contribution that direct charging for waste management could make to increasing recycling and waste reduction."

The report also says that contentious fortnightly rubbish collections would increase the amount of recycling.

Friends of the Earth Scotland is in favour of charging for collection, but insists this should be coupled with a council tax rebate for those who recycle.

Duncan McLaren, the body's chief executive, said: "The priority has to be waste prevention, something this report only touches on.

"Well over 60 per cent of domestic waste could be recycled or composted if the necessary facilities and processing plants existed. With Scotland's recycling rates at only 25 per cent, there is so much more that could be done to boost recycling.

"One thing that must be avoided is any dash by councils to burn waste. Incinerators create climate pollution, generate fewer jobs and undermine waste prevention and recycling schemes."

However a spokesman for the TaxPayers' Alliance said consumers already pay for rubbish collection through council tax.

He added: "Charges for essential services which taxpayers used to take for granted are unjustified. Families have never paid so much council tax so the suggestion of extra charging on top of high taxes is an insult."

INCREASING the level of recycling in Scotland will prove "difficult and costly", according to the Audit Scotland report.

Although participation has risen from 50 per cent of people to 81 per cent in 2006, the auditors say councils have to invest more to increase rates.

The Scottish Government will have to increase funding for councils from £89 million to £271 million in 2020 to achieve 55 per cent recycling.

Waste management is also a policy challenge for councils. Audit Scotland suggested public education on reducing rubbish and more kerbside collections.

Isabelle Low, deputy chair of the Accounts Commission for Scotland, that forms part of Audit Scotland, said: "The Scottish Government recycling targets will be difficult and costly to meet due to the need to recycle more types of waste, extend access to hard-to-reach areas such as tenements and rural communities, and because the value of additional materials collected will fall."