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PRESS RELEASE

February 23, 2004

CRN/AN/PR47

To be released immediately

CRN BACKS CALL FOR CHANGE TO LANDFILL TAX REVENUE

The Community Recycling Network (CRN) is backing a report to the Government recommending a major overhaul of the way landfill tax is distributed.

The report from consultancy Integrated Skills Limited was commissioned for HM Treasury following the Budget 2003 and has been published this week.

The CRN agrees with the report's call for a rationalisation and strengthening of the existing system for the distribution of landfill tax and also backs the recommendation that there is a need to 'develop and provide more cost-effective collection services for recyclables'.

The report also suggests that with respect to targeted grants, priority is given to projects or activities likely to result in significant and cost-effective diversion of waste from landfill in the short-to-medium term such as the collection of recyclables, highlighting the contribution made by the voluntary sector.

Andy Moore, Co-ordinator of the Community Recycling Network, says: "Historically the community sector has led in innovation in recycling collections and related activities and many local authorities are now capitalizing on the lessons learnt from 20 years of experimentation within the community sector.

"We need the Government to use imagination to bring the community sector more fully into delivery of its strategic objectives in waste and recycling."

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The community sector in England has not been able to access landfill tax money since changes to the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme were implemented in April 2003. Many in the sector pressed for a reform of the scheme because of its unstrategic distribution of funds, fully expecting that the community sector would benefit from the subsequent changes. Many felt this was the intention of the former Environment Minister Michael Meacher when he was in office.

ENDS

Notes for editors:
The Community Recycling Network is a national umbrella organisation for more than 300 community groups, co-operatives and not-for-profit businesses in the community waste sector. Its aim is to promote community-based recycling as the most effective way of tackling the UK's growing waste problem. Its members have achieved some of the highest recycling rates in the UK and offer separated kerbside recycling collections to 1.6 million households - seven per cent of the UK population.

The Community Recycling Network is based at Trelawney House, Surrey Street, Bristol, BS2 8PS, tel: 0117 942 0142. The CRN website is www.crn.org.uk.

For all media enquiries please contact: Andy Nelmes, CRN Press Officer, 0117 908 0415 or 07949 626119, andyn@crn.org.uk