The Local Government Association (LGA) has announced that Britain’s landfill sites will be full in less than eight years unless there is a major shift in national recycling rates.

Businesses, manufacturers, shops and households are being urged to respond to the urgency of the situation and help to reduce the amount of rubbish being produced and thrown away.

The new figures from the LGA reveal that despite major improvements in household recycling rates, Britain will still reach its landfill limits in 2018, based on current rates of waste disposal.

The UK sends more waste to landfill than any other country in Europe, despite increasing regulatory pressure to reduce the amount being buried. UK households send more than 18.8 million tonnes to landfill every year; two million tonnes more than any other country in the EU.

Local government leaders have warned that unless radical reforms are made, taxpayers will be called on to pick up the bill in the future, as landfill tax rates continue to rise steeply for councils. By 2020 the government, and consequently taxpayers, could be facing fines of up to £180 million a year if landfill targets are missed.

'Huge financial penalties'

Councillor Gary Porter, chairman of the LGA Environment Board, explained: "For decades people used to be able to throw away their rubbish without worrying about the environmental or financial consequences. Those days have gone.

"Taxpayers face huge financial penalties if targets to reduce the amount of rubbish sent to landfill are not met… Britain is fast running out of space to dump rubbish in the ground."

Posted 22 July 2010