Tax on UK incinerators may push councils to send more waste to landfill

Government scheme to penalise pollution from burning rubbish won't ensure more is recycled, consultants warn

Councils may be forced to send more rubbish to landfill or export it overseas because of a new pollution tax set to be imposed on the UK's network of waste incinerators.

There are already more than 60 energy-from-waste incinerators across the UK and the Observer revealed in December that as many as 40 new plants are in the pipeline. Many local councils have supported the policy of burning waste, which is cheaper than sending it to landfill.