Labour urged not to mess with the country's bin collections

Councils must not be stripped of powers over bin collections, the Local Government Association has warned amid mounting concern about a shake-up in how the nation deals with waste. Plans to force the businesses responsible for packaging waste to deal with the cost of disposing it must not result in councils losing control of household waste and recycling services, the LGA insists.

It claims the packaging industry is lobbying to take "key powers over doorstep waste services away from democratically elected local authorities and into the hands of the packaging industry".

The LGA says industry groups argue that because they will have to pay towards waste and recycling costs they should have a say on what bin services look like.

Council leaders fear in a worst case scenario this could result in collections being cut back. They warn against a "one-size-fits-all model" with decisions "driven by cost rather than community benefit".

Despite funding cuts, the LGA claims, councils have delivered "some of the best-performing recycling systems in the world".

Arooj Shah, the leader of Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council and environment spokesperson for the LGA, said: "Councils are proud to deliver waste and recycling services that are trusted by the public and tailored to the needs of local areas. We support the ambition of the [Extended Producer Responsibility] reforms, but they must be built on partnership and respect for what local government delivers every day.

"Decisions about collections and services must remain in the hands of communities, not handed over to producers whose priority will inevitably be profit. If this scheme is to succeed, it must strengthen local delivery, not sideline it."

The Food and Drink Federation said it was "wholly incorrect" to suggest the packaging industry wanted to run services.

A spokesperson said: "Packaging producers are investing £1.4billion a year to drive improvements in the UK's recycling and are now legally responsible for meeting the nation's recycling targets. It's critical that this scheme delivers value for money and reverses the UK's flatlining recycling rates, and businesses, local authorities, and central government will all play a vital role in achieving this.

"However, these claims that [the] industry is seeking to operate local waste services are wholly incorrect. This is not and has never been part of industry's approach to packaging waste management."

A Government spokesperson said the changes would be good news for taxpayers, stating: "We are ending the postcode lottery of bin collections and cleaning up our streets for good. Extended Producer Responsibility benefits every household in England by moving the cost of dealing with waste away from taxpayers and generating £1 billion to improve recycling for councils."