GOVERNMENT SHOULD SCRAP GREEN LIGHT POLICY FOR INCINERATORS SAYS MP

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Mon 20th Oct 2003

In response to the Environmental Audit Committee's report Waste - An Audit, the Government has today accepted that it has not done enough on waste reduction, but has rejected calls from MPs to block a new generation of incinerators.

Commenting on the Government's response, Sue Doughty MP, Liberal Democrat Member of the Environmental Audit Committee, said:

"The Government has been warned repeatedly that its waste strategy is pushing local councils towards a policy of incineration. Ministers are not giving councils the support they need make recycling and waste reduction an affordable alternative to landfill.

"The Government's excuse for Britain's unambitious recycling targets is that we started a long way behind the rest of Europe. If we are a long way behind Europe, then after 6 years of Labour Government, Blair must take the blame.

"The Government's message should be 'reduce, reuse and recycle', but their policies are telling people 'bin it, burn it or bury it'."