Britain Needs A ‘Pay As You Throw’ Tax

Such is the proposal of a new report released on the weekend by the UK’s Institute for Public Policy Research and Green Alliance. They point out that only about a quarter of domestic waste gets recycled in the UK, whereas across the Channel in the Netherlands they can manage almost three times as much. In another example, of the 4 billion foil lined TetraPaks (longlife milk and juice) used in UK, only 10% get recycled, but Germany, who has a tiny levy on the cartons, processes 65% of the things. The report cites other instances of European neighbours seeing pronounced reductions in consumption of throwaway goods where a ‘Pay As You Throw’ tax has been applied. But it also notes that there are some good news stories on the home front, like supermarket chain, Sainsbury’s, working with their suppliers to replace the use of cardboard boxes with reusable crates, saving approximately 8,400 tonnes of cardboard a year. Items suited to a throwaway levy are said to include, single use cameras, disposable razors, picnic tableware and non-rechargeable batteries. ::Institute for Public Policy Research, via ::The Age.