Under new Government proposals to clean up the way rubbish is dealt with, Barnet council tax payers could end up paying less for the service.

Council leaders have officially given their backing to the Government's new plans to deal with domestic waste more effectively in a bid to safeguard the environment.

It would mean that because the London borough generates less rubbish than other councils, charges for dealing with waste would be less under the new scheme. Savings for the borough are estimated as being as much as £732,000 a year.

Currently Barnet is one of several councils that form part of the North London Waste Authority, which charges each council a levy for the disposal of its domestic waste. The levy is calculated on the council tax base of each council.

Barnet says it has fared badly from this arrangement and has been arguing for a fairer system which takes into account the amount of waste generated.

The council argues that this would be more environmentally-friendly, giving local authorities an incentive to generate less waste and recycle more.

In addition new rules for tips could mean a fairer distribution of costs between councils. One of the changes suggested is that charges could be based on the size of populations.

"This is good news for Barnet and for the environment," said Barnet's budget, financing and performance committee chairman Danish Chopra.

"Barnet is striving to recycle more waste. Less means less damage to the environment, less is charged to the council."

The Government's plans have been put forward in a consultative report by the Department of the Environment, Transport and Regions.

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