News Story

What a Load of Rubbish!

Gordon Brown’s Government is moving ahead with legislation to introduce new charges for the collection of household rubbish.

 

Initially, five pilot schemes will adopt these new taxes; the Government’s own predictions then forecast that the taxes will be extended to two out of three homes.

The key arguments against bin taxes:-

 

· Families across the country are suffering from a soaring cost of living. Bin taxes will punish families for having children. Even the Government’s own optimistic Impact Assessment admits that families will pay £72.31 a year more.

 

· Increasing the tax burden. In Ireland costs of 300-400 Euros are not uncommon for waste collection.

 

·  Harmful to the environment: Bin taxes will lead to a surge in fly-tipping and backyard burning. Fly-tipping has already soared in the last three years due to higher landfill taxes. Bin taxes will give perverse incentives to households to dump their rubbish, stuff it in bins other than their own, or contaminate recycling collections. In the Republic of Ireland, bin taxes have led to 4 in 10 households now burning their rubbish, and such burning now causes 73% of all dioxin emissions. Under the Government’s proposals, civil amenity sites will have to remain free for household waste. Many residents will therefore drive to the local dump to avoid bin taxes – increasing carbon emissions and congestion.

“This is just another cynical Labour attempt to tax families more by stealth.”

 

Cllr. John Wilson

“Bin taxes will punish families for having children.”

 

Eric Pickles MP

In short, bin taxes will harm the local environment and increase the cost of living. This is just another cynical Labour attempt to tax families more by stealth, but with a thick coat of greenwash.

 

There is great concern in local government about the growing cost of waste but the answer is not to increase taxes on families.

 

We will not collaborate with Labour to prop up Gordon Brown’s discredited stealth tax regime.

“We will not collaborate with Labour to prop up Gordon Brown’s discredited stealth tax regime.”

 

Cllr. Robert  Barnard