Although last week intervention from Downing Street meant no full introduction of a national waste charging scheme; a scheme will be piloted around the country in several areas. These areas are yet to be decided.

If passed into law, the proposed Climate Change Bill will result in changes to the Environmental Protection Act (1990) to allow for the legal introduction of waste charging schemes.

Upon completion of the pilot scheme a report and assessment will be made to parliament regarding the successes and failures of the scheme. However, the proposal of waste charging schemes has highlighted concerns over fly-tipping. According to South Somerset District Council fly-tipping has cost Yeovil £25,000 in the past year.

The Communities and Local Government Committee in their last report requested further clarification on how financial incentive schemes will interact with council tax and also recognises that such schemes will disadvantage large families and those on low income. This report makes clear that if any scheme is to be introduced there are many issues in need of ironing out before going ahead.

Opinions regarding waste-charging are mixed, therefore we have placed a poll on the homepage of this website. I encourage you to vote in the poll and/or comment on this blog and let us know your thoughts on the issue!