Eric Pickles, the community secretary, is promoting the public’s right to throw away as much rubbish as it likes in a move that has prompted a furious reaction within Whitehall.
The row – one of the first within the new coalition government – has come to a head over the question of which department should be responsible for rubbish collection and disposal. Mr Pickles annoyed officials in Defra, the environment department, within weeks of arriving in his post at the Department of Communities and Local Government by announcing an end to “bin taxes” and fortnightly recycling. The pledge was popular since many people hate politicians tampering with their weekly free bin collection. In his speech, the minister said he had prevented a “barmy” Labour policy to “kill off” weekly bin collections. Mr Pickles believes that councils should instead switch towards a “carrot” approach, paying people for how much they recycle. The speech prompted Defra anger because garbage legislation originates from a third department – energy – but is in fact the responsibility of Caroline Spelman, secretary of state for the environment.
It has created confusion among councils pushing “sustainable” rubbish collection. “The local authorities are up in arms, heartily angry about this, they know that Pickles has no power over rubbish collection, it’s not his business,” said one Tory source. “It’s all very unsatisfactory.” It is understood that Ms Spelman is being urged by mandarins to go ahead with her department’s green agenda. They believe it would be a mistake to abandon policies such as charging households for the quantity of waste they throw away. Conservatives and Lib Dems are wary of easing the planning requirements to allow the building of more such facilities, for fear of local opposition. One source said that Defra officials fear that Mr Pickles and Greg Clark, decentralisation minister, may be planning to annex responsibility for waste entirely and subsume it into their department. Tensions have rumbled for months, even in opposition, where Mr Pickles and Peter Ainsworth, former shadow environment secretary, often argued about who should be responsible for waste policy.
Source:Financial Times
