Pay-as-you-Throw Tax Plans

Trials of pay-as-you-throw taxes are to start in five districts next year.
The Government estimates that they will mean bills of up to £50 a year for those who fail to recycle enough of their rubbish.

Although the Government refers to the charges as "financial incentives", the Treasury classes them as taxes. Pay-as-you-throw taxes were expected to be levied according to the weight of rubbish a household puts out. However, ministers have noted that they could also be charged as payment for the restoration of weekly rubbish collections.

Joint Waste Authorities would decide the nature, scale and extent of the charges and would bill householders accordingly. Thus with this introduction, householders can expect yet another 'utility' bill. Residents must be consulted by town halls on transferring rubbish collection to a JWA, but the individual councils will make the decisions over whether to transfer control over this area of their current authority.