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| Call to tackle UK business waste | Call to tackle UK business waste |
| (about 9 hours later) | |
| The government needs to step up efforts to reduce waste from business, according to a parliamentary committee. | The government needs to step up efforts to reduce waste from business, according to a parliamentary committee. |
| The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee recommends using variable VAT rates to cut unsustainable consumption of raw materials. | The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee recommends using variable VAT rates to cut unsustainable consumption of raw materials. |
| Its report says pressure has so far concentrated on householders, who account for only 9% of the UK's waste. | Its report says pressure has so far concentrated on householders, who account for only 9% of the UK's waste. |
| Environment minister Joan Ruddock said the government does have measures that are inducing businesses to cut waste. | Environment minister Joan Ruddock said the government does have measures that are inducing businesses to cut waste. |
| Those measures include the landfill tax escalator under which the tax on landfill will rise by £8 per tonne each year until 2011. FROM THE TODAY PROGRAMME href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/default.stm">More from Today programme | |
| The committee acknowledged that this had been effective in reducing the amount of waste dumped in landfill sites, but said other initiatives were needed. | The committee acknowledged that this had been effective in reducing the amount of waste dumped in landfill sites, but said other initiatives were needed. |
| "We would like to see the VAT regime reformed so that products that have a long life-cycle, or can be easily and cheaply repaired rather than replaced, are made economically more attractive," said Lord O'Neill, who chaired the sub-committee on waste. | "We would like to see the VAT regime reformed so that products that have a long life-cycle, or can be easily and cheaply repaired rather than replaced, are made economically more attractive," said Lord O'Neill, who chaired the sub-committee on waste. |
| "This would be an important step in turning away from the 'throwaway' consumer culture we currently have." | "This would be an important step in turning away from the 'throwaway' consumer culture we currently have." |
| 'Disappointing' cuts | 'Disappointing' cuts |
| About one-third of the UK's waste is produced by construction and demolition, and a further third by mining and quarrying. | About one-third of the UK's waste is produced by construction and demolition, and a further third by mining and quarrying. |
| Nevertheless, the committee says, government action and media attention have concentrated on the much smaller contribution from households. | Nevertheless, the committee says, government action and media attention have concentrated on the much smaller contribution from households. |
| Councils too should change focus, it recommends, to prioritise reducing waste from businesses. class="" href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/monthwithoutplastic/">A month without plastic | |
| Some business leaders interviewed by the committee said each company should be made responsible for the waste associated with its own products, a recommendation that the committee endorsed. | |
| Lord O'Neill said this would ensure that "manufacturers who behave irresponsibly face financial consequences and those who are doing the right thing are supported." | Lord O'Neill said this would ensure that "manufacturers who behave irresponsibly face financial consequences and those who are doing the right thing are supported." |
| Another recommendation is that the government should ring-fence a proportion of revenue raised from the landfill tax for agencies charged with reducing business waste. | Another recommendation is that the government should ring-fence a proportion of revenue raised from the landfill tax for agencies charged with reducing business waste. |
| Envirowise and the Waste and the Resources Action Programme (Wrap) are among the agencies whose budgets are being cut - a move about which the committee expresses "extreme disappointment". | Envirowise and the Waste and the Resources Action Programme (Wrap) are among the agencies whose budgets are being cut - a move about which the committee expresses "extreme disappointment". |
| The committee also refers to an issue often expressed by environmentalists - that the advice that people receive in the UK focuses too much on recycling, and not enough on reducing consumption. | The committee also refers to an issue often expressed by environmentalists - that the advice that people receive in the UK focuses too much on recycling, and not enough on reducing consumption. |
| The argument is that policies should aim first at reducing what people use, then encourage re-use, and only then stimulate recycling. | The argument is that policies should aim first at reducing what people use, then encourage re-use, and only then stimulate recycling. |
| "If our society was to implement the hierarchy effectively, a far smaller amount of waste would need to be disposed of after all the previous stages had been put into practice," the committee concludes. | "If our society was to implement the hierarchy effectively, a far smaller amount of waste would need to be disposed of after all the previous stages had been put into practice," the committee concludes. |
| Richard.Black-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk | Richard.Black-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk |
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