BURY North MP David Chaytor has joined a parliamentary campaign to make local councils provide recycling services to householders.

Mr Chaytor's stand comes ahead of the launch of the Government's new waste strategy, due to be published next month.

He said: "The public outcry against the proposed landfill site at Fletcher Bank Quarry has shown that no-one wants to live next to a landfill site. A recent public survey by NOP has confirmed that landfill is the most hated form of waste disposal - and that incineration is a close second. It also showed that 90 per cent of people already recycle some of their household waste.

"It's quite clear that recycling is popular and should be encouraged in every way. That's why I'm calling on the Government to change the law so that local councils are made to provide recycling services to the towns and villages they serve. At present the UK only recycles seven per cent of its household waste - this is far too low and lags way behind most of our European counterparts. Changing the law would help us catch up and also reduce the need for landfill." Mr Chaytor believes that the benefits of recycling should be made clear to everyone. And he is set to host a Parliamentary seminar for leading environmental charity Waste Watch, designed to highlight the benefits of recycling and re-using household rubbish.

"A lot of children are already more aware of their environment than their parents are," Mr Chaytor added.

"More education about recycling, re-using and reducing household rubbish would be a very effective way of raising their environmental consciousness."

And he continued: "I would also like to see pilot studies around the country into variable charging for household rubbish.

"I think that, if people were charged for rubbish collection by the bin or the bag, it would be a big encouragement to waste less and recycle more.

"I hope that recycling will be at the heart of the Government's forthcoming Waste Strategy. For my part, I shall be doing all I can over the coming months to put recycling at the top of the Government's agenda."

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