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Call to tax disposable packaging Call to tax disposable packaging
(1 day later)
The government is being urged to tax hard-to-recycle and disposable products in a bid to cut the amount of waste produced by manufacturers.The government is being urged to tax hard-to-recycle and disposable products in a bid to cut the amount of waste produced by manufacturers.
A report by the Institute for Public Policy Research and the Green Alliance says items such as throw-away cameras and disposable razors should be taxed.A report by the Institute for Public Policy Research and the Green Alliance says items such as throw-away cameras and disposable razors should be taxed.
It comes ahead of the government's pre-Budget report and Waste Strategy.It comes ahead of the government's pre-Budget report and Waste Strategy.
Earlier this week environment minister Ben Bradshaw pressured supermarkets to cut down on packaging.Earlier this week environment minister Ben Bradshaw pressured supermarkets to cut down on packaging.
Sweden, Denmark and Belgium have reduced consumption of disposable products by introducing similar taxes. 'Pay-as-you-throw'
The report said taxing items such as drink cartons that are not easily recyclable would help reduce the levels of waste.The report said taxing items such as drink cartons that are not easily recyclable would help reduce the levels of waste.
Currently four billion of these cartons are used in the UK each year but less than 10% are recycled. Currently four billion of these cartons are used in the UK each year but less than 10% of them are recycled.
It is time manufacturers were made to take full responsibility for the life cycle of their products. Paul Bettison It is time manufacturers were made to take full responsibility for the life cycle of their products Paul Bettison
But in countries such as Germany, where there is a 1.5% charge on cartons to help pay for collection and recycling, more than 65% of cartons are recycled.But in countries such as Germany, where there is a 1.5% charge on cartons to help pay for collection and recycling, more than 65% of cartons are recycled.
The report adds that giving local authorities the power to charge residents for collecting non-recyclable household waste would be the best way to meet current recycling targets. Nick Pearce, IPPR director, said it was up to businesses to take "greater responsibility for the whole life of products, by paying a product tax that goes towards payment for disposal".
'Pay-as-you-throw' He said this would only be fair if a "pay-as-you-throw" system of charges for collecting household rubbish was introduced - a system which the IPPR called for earlier this year.
Nick Pearce, Director of the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) said it was up to businesses to take "greater responsibility for the whole life of products, by paying a product tax that goes towards payment for disposal". Paul Bettison, chairman of the Local Government Association's Environment Board, said that unless there was a "radical overhaul" of the way rubbish was dealt with, the environment would continue to suffer and council tax bills would rise.
"This is only fair if we are going to introduce 'pay-as-you-throw' charges for collecting household rubbish," he said.
Julie Hill of the Green Alliance added: "Taxing disposable products to encourage consumers to switch to more durable alternatives, or taxing products to pay for their recycling, will give manufacturers no choice but to ultimately design our waste."
Paul Bettison, chairman of the Local Government Association's Environment Board, said unless there was a "radical overhaul" of the way rubbish was dealt with, the environment would continue to suffer and council tax bills would rise.
"It is time manufacturers were made to take full responsibility for the life cycle of their products. It is totally unacceptable that the council taxpayer is picking up the bill for business.
"The government should ensure that it is the polluter and not people that pay," he said."The government should ensure that it is the polluter and not people that pay," he said.
'Infrastructure problem'
A Treasury spokesman said taxes were already being used to discourage unenvironmental behaviour.A Treasury spokesman said taxes were already being used to discourage unenvironmental behaviour.
"The landfill tax has helped reduce volume of waste going to landfill by 28% since 1997 and has helped to fund local community projects," he said."The landfill tax has helped reduce volume of waste going to landfill by 28% since 1997 and has helped to fund local community projects," he said.
Manufacturer Tetra Pak said the drink carton industry was taking a lead by investing to boost carton collection and reprocessing in the UK.
"Cartons can be recycled; what has so far been largely absent in this country is the infrastructure to enable collection," environment manager Richard Hands said.
The firm added: "The report does seem to concentrate on end-of-life rather than the wider picture of resource-efficiency, energy consumption and transport throughout a product's entire life cycle."