Government penalising tax payers by delaying waste reforms

North London Waste Authority Chair, Cllr Clyde Loakes, responds to the government's announcement of another delay to the Extended Producer Responsibility scheme:

“For more than four years now we’ve been calling for an extended producer responsibility system that gives money to councils and communities to fund waste prevention projects and more extensive recycling collections. It seems that for four years the government has been listening to manufacturers who want to profit at the expense of the environment with unsustainable packaging and disposable products. Lobbyists are using the cost-of-living crisis as a smokescreen, saying that manufacturers can’t afford to be liable for disposal costs, but in their eyes its fine for the burden to fall on council tax payers.”

In recent months NLWA has urged the government to press ahead with waste reforms and supported the National Audit Office review of Defra's actions.