HOUSEHOLDERS and businesses in York and North Yorkshire are being urged to step up their recycling efforts, following an announcement that landfill fax could double over the next five years.

The tax is currently £13 a tonne and is due to go up to £14 in April next year, but in his Pre-Budget Report Chancellor Gordon Brown said that the tax would rise by £3 per tonne each year from 2005-06.

Landfill tax is borne by waste producers in the public and private sector, and this new rise will ultimately be passed on to the taxpayer.

North Yorkshire waste management company Yorwaste is urging householders and businesses in the county to think about the amount of rubbish they produce, in a bid to minimise the impact of the rise.

Yorwaste has already made great strides on behalf of its customers to reduce the amount of waste that goes to landfill, by introducing a number of recycling schemes in the area, but it believes both householders and businesses could do more to increase recycling rates.

Managing director Steve Grieve said: "Even though we have made progress in North Yorkshire and York over the last two years, much more is needed over the next few years to reduce the amount of waste that goes to landfill.

"Householders and businesses need to recycle more waste, such as paper, cans and bottles, as well as wood, cardboard and plastic. Waste should be used as a resource."

Yorwaste is currently operating a number of kerbside collections of newspapers, cans, bottles and tins, and these materials are sent for recycling.

The company also has three successful composting operations throughout North Yorkshire and is working with businesses to minimise waste, increase recycling and reduce landfill.

Mr Grieve said: "Over the longer term landfill will become more expensive than recycling and composting and landfill tax is being used by the Chancellor as a stick to force people and businesses to recycle."

Updated: 11:08 Friday, December 06, 2002