'Money off' bid to boost recycling

Londoners are to be given £10 off their council tax if they agree to recycle their rubbish, it was announced today.

In the most radical recycling plan ever announced in Britain, families who agree to fill special boxes will get money off their bill.

The measure is a desperate attempt to boost recycling from its present level of just eight per cent to more than 25 per cent within the next three years. London is already the capital with the worst green record in Europe. By contrast, Berlin manages to recycle 40 per cent of its waste.

The scheme was unveiled today as part of a package of proposals to tackle London's massive rubbish problem. The aim is to cut the 4.4 million tonnes of waste being transported to landfill sites and incinerators each year.

Householders will be given 25-litre plastic boxes to fill with paper, glass and cans. These will be collected once a week. The council will calculate how often residents have recycled over the year using a microchip on the side of the boxes that is "read" by a scanner on the collection lorry.

Householders whose boxes are put out more than 26 weeks in the year will receive a £10 council tax rebate. The cash-back scheme has already been tested in Brent, with positive results. The number of residents using their boxes increased by 50 per cent when the trial began and the amount of waste recycled increased by 34 per cent. However, researchers found that despite being offered a £10 reward to recycle for at least half of a six-month period, 40 per cent of residents did not join in.

A further 12 per cent recycled once or twice before giving up and only 22 per cent recycled for long enough to get the money.

Mayor Ken Livingstone said: "I'm extremely concerned about our street environment. Our city is producing more and more waste every year and the only way forward is through better coordination of waste services and the implementation of a single waste disposal authority in the capital."

In his strategy, Mr Livingstone says London can no longer rely on landfill or incineration to dispose of its rubbish because landfill sites will be full by 2009 and incinerators are unpopular with nearby residents.

However, the plans may be scuppered by the Mayor's lack of power. Critics point out that councils do not have to follow his plans for a £10 money-off scheme and are likely to continue to use the cheaper option of incineration. Even if Mr Livingstone does block plans to build new incinerators, they claim companies will build them in areas outside his jurisdiction and transport London's waste to them.

Paul de Zylva, campaigns coordinator for Friends of the Earth London, said: "The Mayor's progressive waste strategy could mark a new era of responsible resource use with London shrugging off its 'waste capital of the world' tag.

"But the threat of incineration looms large. The Mayor's strategy may not be enough to stop new incinerators being built."

Groups such as the Green Party believe Londoners should be forced to reduce waste by using less packaging and re-using products such as plastic bottles.

Darren Johnson, Green leader in the London Assembly, said: "The Mayor and his team have shown themselves to be politically timid and their short-sighted plan demonstrates their failure to be sufficiently radical in dealing with London's increasing waste."