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Report urges fines for big businesses, supermarkets

Ministers should stop penalising householders over their rubbish and instead tackle waste generated by supermarkets and businesses, a report urged on Wednesday.

  • Evening Standard
  • Published: 23:43 August 20, 2008
  • Gulf News

London: Ministers should stop penalising householders over their rubbish and instead tackle waste generated by supermarkets and businesses, a report urged on Wednesday.

The House of Lords science committee pointed out that domestic waste accounts for less than 10 per cent of all the nation's refuse but residents are the only ones being forced to cut output.

Millions of families have lost their weekly rubbish collections, face fines if they fail to recycle and could be hit by "pay as you throw" taxes.

But big business is not being penalised as hard and supermarkets are producing excessive packaging that make the problem of waste much worse, according to yesterday's report.

Producer responsibility

The peers said there should be "producer responsibility" for waste associated with a company's products "so manufacturers who behave irresponsibly face financial consequences and those who are doing the right thing are supported."

Firms which produce too much packaging in products such as chocolate biscuits and Easter eggs should be made to pay, the report added.

It also said waste targets for local authorities focus on cutting the amount of domestic waste sent to landfill - but household rubbish only accounts for nine per cent of the UK total.

The report said: "The target regime for local authorities must be changed so instead of a focus only on individuals' waste, priority is given to ensuring businesses are doing their bit to reduce waste."

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