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Refuse Collection

I am in the middle of some waste disposal, I am afraid. I am concerned about the time it will take to introduce the bin tax pilots, which have been referred to. I am concerned that, by then, people will have made up their minds about being charged for waste. They probably do not believe that they will ever be rebated, and there will be deep scepticism about bin taxes. As they already pay council tax in full, they do not believe that they should be charged further for their waste, so we do not wish the pilots to go ahead. We believe that well introduced and variable forms of waste collection will work, and that there is a clear correlation between the collection and effective disposal of waste. Until we get a genuine system of modern waste disposal, we will not see the full impact on household collection. There will be many unforeseen changes in people's waste disposal habits long before the introduction of bin taxes, so I would be much more comfortable if the Minister reassured us that there will be a serious and connected examination of investment in waste disposal, involving the highest levels of new technology, so that we can move forward much more effectively to ensure that we not only increase our waste recycling, but use disposable household waste much more effectively to compost, pelletise and heat homes. There are many other ways of thinking of waste as a commodity that can be used, rather than as something to be disposed of.