'Cut VAT on repairs to stop people throwing so much away'

Published on Tuesday 19 August 2008 22:15

THE level of VAT on getting goods repaired or serviced should be cut to help to end our throwaway culture, according to a House of Lords committee.

It believes reducing VAT could encourage more people to have items repaired rather than throwing them away, so cutting waste.

The report also suggests the government reduce VAT for products that use sustainable materials.

Lord O'Neill, the former Ochil MP who chairs the Lords science sub-committee on waste reduction, said: "We would 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' consumer culture we currently have."

The report called for the government to move its focus away from consumers and towards companies in its effort to cut waste – household rubbish accounts for only 9 per cent of waste in the UK.

It backed "eco-labels" to help consumers understand the environmental impact of what they were buying.

Lord O'Neill 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."