Ernie Clark. Hilperton Division, Wiltshire Council.

That and another consultation by the government.

The tax that councils are charged for putting rubbish into landfill increased by 20% on 1st April.

At the same time, the government has launched a consultation on banning food waste from landfill. The government feels that too many items such as metal cans, wood, paper, plastic and food are ending up in landfill sites when there is a market for them and an environmental argument for recycling them.

Any new obligation to sort waste would fall primarily on local authorities and businesses, not on individual householders.