We’re ‘taxed’ £9.8m for rubbish (From Droitwich Advertiser)

We’re ‘taxed’ £9.8m for rubbish

11:50am Saturday 23rd March 2013 in News

TAXPAYERS in Worcestershire are forking out record amounts in landfill charges – despite the amount of rubbish being buried falling.

£9.8m in landfill taxes went to the Government in 2012 (it was £4.7m in 2006), despite the amount of waste going to landfill actually dropping by a third over that period.

The Government has increased the levies by £8 per tonne each year since 2008, meaning it has gone from £32 to £72 this April.

Furious council chiefs have said enough is enough and have revealed that the demands are starting to affect funding for key services.

Councillor Anthony Blagg, cabinet member for the environment, said: “The Government has decided to keep on increasing the tax and if it continues, it will end up astronomical.”

Although the costs are funded together with Herefordshire Council, as both authorities share waste disposal, they say the charges are hammering budgets.

County Hall is planning to build a £120 million incinerator on land at Hartlebury, but the funding options are still up in the air and a likely opening date could be three years away.

Coun Blagg, backing calls from the Local Government Association (LGA) for landfill taxes to be capped, added:

“It does affect what we can spend on other services and shows how important it is to convince people we need this incinerator - we’ve got to get away from landfill.

“We are diverting so much waste towards recycling but these taxes are still going up - the LGA is saying enough is enough and we support that.”

The vast majority of rubbish is from homes, while a limited amount is from businesses which have agreements with the county council.