FINES IF YOU DON'T SAVE FOOD SCRAPS

Some town halls saw a revolt in local elections earlier this month by voters against the scrapping of weekly rubbish collections.

The so-called “alternative weekly refuse collections” have also been blamed for an increase in infestations of vermin.

Mr Miliband is desperate to reduce the country’s waste mountain and campaigners say this strategy is his chance to prove his green credentials.

However, critics say recycling should be a lifestyle choice rather than forced on householders.

Campaigners have also raised questions about the health dangers of plans for “slop buckets” and said the new rules will lead to more fly-tipping as people seek to avoid additional charges.

Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the Taxpayers’ Alliance, called on councils, rather than householders, to do the hard work involved in recycling.

He said: “This is another example of councils wanting taxpayers to do more. Why should council tax payers spend more and more time recycling? It’s time the councils put their money into it. It’s a good idea to give people a tax rebate but these schemes punish larger families. The bigger households produce a lot more waste but also tend to be busier and they don’t have the time to constantly sort out their rubbish.”

He also raised questions about the safety of “slop buckets” saying: “I think it is very unhygienic. They get full quickly and in the summer will be covered in flies.”

Homes across the UK waste 3.3 million tons of food a year, according to the Government’s waste body Wrap. Most  goes into landfill sites, where it breaks down and causes greenhouse gases.

About one-fifth of our carbon emissions are related to the production, processing, transport and storage of food.

The new strategy on Thursday will set out how England aims to deal with waste and resources up until at least 2020 and will guide local authorities on how to deal with household waste.

Its development has been mainly driven by the need to ensure England reaches targets set by the European Union for reducing the amount of biodegradable waste sent to landfill.

Green campaigners have welcomed initiatives to improve the situation saying recycling should be made popular and easy. Friends of the Earth Waste Campaigner Dr Michael Warhurst said: “There are no rewards if you make the effort to recycle, other than knowing you have done the right thing.

“The idea [of the strategy] is to find some kind of reward and encourage people to do that. But we do think it should be designed in some way that doesn’t negatively effect poorer households.”