GOVERNMENT plans to charge households up to £5 every month to collect more than two bags of refuse a week were unenthusiastically received in north Kent.

The idea is to encourage people to recycle their household waste to meet far-reaching government targets and to limit rubbish sent to land-fill sites.

But Dartford and Gravesham councils say they have already introduced their own recycling schemes and would oppose being part of a group of local authorities to pilot the Government's idea.

The national average of recycling household waste by local authorities is 11 per cent and Dartford Council lags far behind, with only six per cent.

But it says the idea will encourage fly-tipping and it is against the idea of charging residents to collect their waste, which would be an administrative nightmare anyway. Council leader Councillor John Muckle said he wanted to wait for the results of the Bag It Before You Bin It pilot scheme, introduced two weeks ago.

Encouraged by half the 7,500 homes in the scheme recycling their waste, he added: "I don't think the Government's idea is a particularly good one and I would not be pushing for us to take part in the pilot scheme."

Currently recycling 10 per cent of its waste, Gravesham Council says the idea is inappropriate for the borough, which already has a number of recycling schemes and plans another full-scale initiative later this year.

Sevenoaks Council, which recycles 13 per cent, would not comment on the Government's plan.

Local authorities must recycle 22 per cent of their waste by April 2003 and 33 per cent by 2005, according to Government targets.

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July 15, 2002 19:30