The Government has been dubbed 'short sighted' by one of the UK’s biggest waste companies after an environment minister revealed it has no plans to set recycling targets for councils.
Local government contractor, Biffa Municipal,hit out after Richard Benyon MP said:'It is for local authorities to decide what aspirations on recycling are appropriate for their area depending on their wider waste management goals and individual circumstances.'
The minister was responding to a parliamentary question from Labour MP Jack Dromey.
But Pete Dickson, development director at Biffa, said:'The UK has a national target of recycling 50% of household waste by 2020, as required by the EU.
'Councils are generally comfortable with individual recycling and composting targets. These give them something specific to aim at, something against which progress can be measured, and something to celebrate when targets are met.'
He added removing targets would be'a slap in the face'for councils that had transformed local recycling services through initiatives such as alternate week collections, dry recyclable commingling and wheeled bins, some of which have achieved recycling rates exceeding 70%.
