There are absolutely no plans to introduce ‘pay as you throw’ for household waste in Wales despite reports to the contrary, Environment Minister Jane Davidson said yesterday.
Following an announcement that the UK coalition Government are reversing similar plans in England only, Ms Davidson said:
“As I have stated on numerous occasions we have no plans to charge people for collecting their household waste for landfill.
“Recent news reports are recycling claims without taking any account of the Assembly Government’s clearly stated position and rebuttal. These suggestions are simply wrong.
“I have given a number of assurances when these claims were previously made and am happy to give it again.
“I am absolutely clear on this point: we have no intention of introducing such a tax in Wales.”
In February Ms Davidson laid a proposed Measure before the National Assembly for Wales to seek more legal powers to improve how Wales deals with its waste.
“We all know that landfill is the most environmentally damaging option for waste. Our Measure will allow us to ban certain materials from landfill and ensure that we significantly increase our recycling rates,” Jane Davidson said.
“The Measure will drive us towards waste management practices that are much more sustainable and help us to reduce both our ecological and carbon footprints.”
The Waste Measure covers three main areas for dealing with waste:
- It will enable the Welsh Assembly Government to ban or restrict specified kinds of waste from landfill.
- It will provide the Welsh Ministers with the powers to set statutory targets for the percentage of municipal waste that local authorities recycle or compost, as well as provide the power to impose financial penalties on local authorities failing to meet those targets.
- It will provide the Welsh Ministers with the power to introduce fees and charging schemes for Site Waste Management Plans relating to the Construction and Demolition sector in Wales.
On June 21 the Minister will launch Wales’s new waste strategy, Towards Zero Waste. In addition the Minister will also open a consultation on the Municipal Sector Plan, the first of a series of such documents which will set out the measures we must adopt if we are to reach our ambition of recycling 70 per cent of our waste by 2025.
Ms Davidson said: “These new plans will help create a truly comprehensive recycling society where everyone can recycle where ever they are – at home or at work. They are, I believe, among the most progressive and ambitious in Europe.”
