£1,000 fine for putting any food scraps in the dustbin as 'zero waste' policy could lead up to five-bin headache

Published 12th Oct 2009

Householders could be fined £1,000 if they throw food scraps and potato peelings into the dustbin under a Government 'zero waste' policy.

They will be forced to sift through their rubbish for anything that can be recycled, reused, rotted or burnt for electricity.

The crackdown will create so much recyclable material that homes could be given five wheelie bins and waste boxes to cope.

The controversial zero waste policy - part of the Government's drive to cut greenhouse gas emissions - will be unveiled tomorrow by Environment Minister Hilary Benn.

The plans are due to be outlined at a 'waste summit' aimed at finding new ways to halve the 62million tons of rubbish sent to landfill each year.

Ministers will discuss the issue with councils, businesses and waste experts.

Yesterday, Mr Benn said the Government would launch a consultation early next year into banning food, cans, paper and glass from landfill.

Homes that persistently break the rules by putting food waste in the ordinary dustbin could face fines of £1,000 or more.

'One that we are going to consult on around the turn of the year is banning certain things from going into landfill,' he told the Politics Show on BBC1.

'Because does it make sense to put food into landfill? No it doesn't.'

By 2020, all councils will be forced to offer a full recycling service, he said.

But the plans were condemned by critics.

Matthew Elliott, of the TaxPayers' Alliance pressure group, said: 'Voters are sceptical about recycling policy - particularly when they see recyclables being thrown on the same bins as landfill waste.

'The Government should sort out the current recycling policy before starting on new barmy ideas.

'The fact that food waste could be banned from landfill - effectively treating it as a kind of toxic waste - is a recipe for disaster.'

Around 55 per cent of household waste, 50 per cent of commercial waste and 25 per cent of the debris from construction and building ends up in landfill.

Under the Government's zero waste strategy, due to be phased in over the next few years, only items that have 'absolutely no other use' would be allowed to be buried.

Slop buckets - already used to collect food scraps in millions of homes - would be extended across the whole country, adding another bin to the three or four in use in parts of the UK.

Councils that collect paper, plastic, glass and cans in one bin will be encouraged to give homes more bins to reduce contamination and reduce the amount of recyclable waste that ends up being burnt or thrown onto rubbish tips.

Mr Benn also wants a crackdown on food packaging in shops. He will urge businesses to remove cellophane from vegetables and fruit and encourage people to bring jars to shops for top ups of coffee.

He is also expected to draw up plans to generate electricity from waste. Rotting food releases methane - a potent greenhouse gas which can be burnt to create electricity.

The Government will also announce six pilot schemes to cut waste and boost recycling.

Councils taking part in the experiment - in Suffolk, Oxfordshire, London and Shropshire - will be set tough recycling targets.

A spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: 'We won't be telling them what to do, but the idea is to encourage them to come up with innovative ideas.'

Some councils are already close to handing out five wheelie bins and recycling boxes.

In the North London borough of Brent, householders face fines of up to £1,000 if they don't recycle.

Householders are given a standard black dustbin for ordinary waste, a green compost bin for garden waste, vegetable peelings and cardboard and a green box for 12 types of recyclable.

A fourth bin will be needed for kitchen slops to generate renewable energy from methane.

Earlier this year, the Daily Mail highlighted how the rise of wheelie bins is blighting British streets and homes and fuelling arson attacks.

The Not in Our Front Yard campaign won the backing of English Heritage boss Simon Thurley, the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, the TaxPayers' Alliance and the National Pensioners' Convention.

Source: ' Daily Mail '

View All Nonsense News