Council leaders say that the cost of disposing of unnecessary packaging should fall on retailers and manufacturers to help save consumers’ money.

At a major conference on the future of waste, it was revealed that councils are paying an estimated £100m to dispose of packaging, and producers should be picking up more of this cost.  Councils say that making retailers and manufacturers pay the bill for disposing of unnecessary packaging would give them a real incentive to use less, and help save money for shoppers.

Town halls pay £40 in tax for every tonne of rubbish they put in the ground and will soon be forced to pay a fine for everything they landfill above set targets.  They say that if retailers use more recycled packaging it would help councils to promote recycling to residents, and it will also raise extra income to help to keep council tax down.

Cllr Paul Bettison, Chairman of the Local Government Association Environment Board, said:

”At a time when we’re in recession and shoppers are feeling the pinch, we have to move on from a world that tolerates costly shrink wrap on tins of baked beans. Families are fed up with having to carry so much packaging home from the shops.

“Just last week one big supermarket was advertising its budget range with colourful pictures of carrots and pears in unnecessary plastic bags.  Much of this packaging exists purely so that retailers can put their logos everywhere but it is shoppers who pay the price at the till and when they throw it away.

”If retailers and manufacturers start paying the true price for their unnecessary packaging, they’ll have a real incentive to get rid of it altogether.  Better labelling of whether packaging is recyclable would make things easier for shoppers who want to do the right thing for the environment and help keep their council tax down.

”Boosting the market for recycled materials will mean councils can investment more on improving recycling and offering more consistent services so that people can recycle more of their rubbish.

“Hard pressed families don’t want to see their money going towards paying for packaging and landfill taxes.  If retailers create unnecessary rubbish, they should help shoppers by paying for it to be recycled.”