Lords urge VAT reform

2:58pm Wednesday 20th August 2008

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VAT rates should be reformed to make sustainable consumer goods "more economically attractive" as part of a bid to end the UK's throwaway culture, a Lords committee has suggested.

The House of Lords Science Committee said variable VAT rates should be introduced to encourage products which are long-lived or can be easily repaired rather than replaced, and to promote repairs services.

Efforts to cut the amount of rubbish generated in the UK should also focus on businesses rather than householders, a report on waste reduction by the committee urged.

Lord O'Neill, who chaired the Lords Science Sub-Committee on Waste Reduction, said: "There has been an impressive increase in recycling of domestic waste in the last few years but that only represents a tiny fraction of all waste generated in the UK.

"It is time for the Government to move its priorities from household waste to the far greater problem of industrial and commercial waste.

"We would also like to see the VAT regime reformed so that products that have a long life cycle or can be easily and cheaply repaired rather than replaced are made economically more attractive.

"This would be an important step in turning away from the 'throwaway' culture we currently have."

The Waste Reduction report also said the campaign to boost recycling among householders had meant that moves to reduce waste had been overlooked, with many consumers unaware of the impact of the goods they were buying.

The committee's report backed the development of clear "eco-labels" to help consumers understand the environmental impact of what they were buying and how they were using it - but acknowledged labels alone would not change behaviour.

The committee's report also said targets for local authorities focused on reducing the amount of domestic waste sent to landfill - but that household rubbish only accounted for 9% of the total in the UK.