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Belgium's rubbish solution
By John Andrew
BBC local government correspondent
Councils in England could soon be allowed to charge residents for the amount of
rubbish they throw away. But what effect have "pay as you throw" systems had in
other countries?
Recycling
Lokeren's paying system was unpopular with residents at first
When I visited the Flanders town of Lokeren - half-way between Antwerp and
Ghent - I was following in the footsteps of environment minister Ben Bradshaw.
He went with a team of officials last year to see how this part of Belgium
recycles more than 70% of its household waste.
In Lokeren itself, the rate is nearly 80% - more than three times that in
England as a whole. So how do the Flemish do it?
Not long ago the cost of rubbish collection and disposal was "hidden" in the
main local tax - as it is in Britain.
But a few years ago the Flemish moved to a system where people pay a separate
annual waste fee. In Lokeren, it's set at 80 euros (?56).
On top of that, they pay variable charges based on the weight and volume of
waste they leave for collection.
Chipped bin
The idea is to encourage people to produce less waste and recycle more.
For the keenest recyclers, the total final bill for the year including the
fixed charge can be as little as ?70.
Suspicious householders even weighed their bins on their bathroom scales
because they didn't trust the council's measurement
For those who don't control their waste, it can climb to nearly ?180.
The bins are weighed before and after they're emptied on the truck and the
weights recorded in the cab.
The system also reads a microchip under the bin lid which identifies it as
belonging to that household.
Some papers have dubbed this the "spy in the bin", but it can't see what you
throw away, it merely confirms that the bin is yours.
Fly-tipping fears
At first, some families were hostile.
Suspicious householders even weighed their bins on their bathroom scales
because they didn't trust the council's measurement.
Compost heap
Compost heaps can help reduce the amount of waste
Now, though, the vast majority accept the system as the best way of encouraging
recycling and helping the environment.
Although people were given the chance to buy locks for their bins to stop
neighbours dumping their rubbish in them, only 300 out of 40,000 households
asked for one.
There was no significant rise in fly-tipping, and where illegal dumps did
spring up the council quickly pounced on them and put up warning notices.
Chicken solution
One family I met said the payment-by-weight system had changed their behaviour.
They now tend to buy food with less packaging, like fresh fruit and vegetables.
Councils are under enormous pressure to reduce their waste mountain
And because they are also charged for food and garden waste - though at a lower
rate than other rubbish - they avoid using the green bin at all through a
mixture of composting and using chickens, which gobble up much of their
left-over food.
The local authority has even arranged with local poultry dealers to give
discounts on hens bought for this purpose.
Dirk Strubbe, who runs municipal waste services for six Flemish councils,
admitted there was some resistance to payment by weight when it was first
proposed.
He emphasised that the public must be on board first.
"A large communication project has to be established to convince the population
before you begin pay-as-you-throw," he said.
Pilot schemes
The British government is expected to publish its long-awaited waste strategy
review soon.
There's speculation it may talk about giving councils in England the power to
introduce variable waste charging.
Some councils are already piloting the technology.
Given that the tax on dumping in landfill is increasing by leaps and bounds -
Chancellor Gordon Brown announcing another increase of ?8 a ton in his Budget -
councils are under enormous pressure to reduce their waste mountain.
So it wouldn't be surprising if, given the chance, some councils follow the
lead countries like Belgium have given.