LONDON, May 24 (UPI) -- The British government is developing a plan that would include a new tax on trash pickup aimed at bolstering recycling in the country.
Environment Secretary David Miliband developed a plan that would outfit curb-bound trashcans with electronic sensors that would allow local councils to implement "pay-as-you-throw" tax schemes, The Times of London reported Thursday.
Miliband's proposal, which has the backing of Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown, who is expected to be the next Prime Minister, also includes provisions aimed at decreasing the amount of junk mail in the country and cutting down on plastic bag use at supermarkets.
The plan follows the release of EU statistics that show Britain has one of the worst recycling rates in the European Union, with only 18 percent of its trash going into recycling programs.
