The UK Government‘‘s Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) is inviting applications for funding from councils in england to support pilot schemes to test the effectiveness of a range of incentives to encourage people to reduce their waste and re-use, recycle or compost more.

Up to £5m is available in 2005/06 to support a wide range of pilot incentive schemes - in different areas of the country and in different types of local authority - targeting individual householders and the wider local community.

Schemes that are designed to increase the number of households participating in re-use, recycling or composting, to increase the amount of materials re-used, recycled or composted, or to reduce the amount of waste being produced, will be considered for a share of the funding. By testing the effectiveness of a variety of approaches in different circumstances, the results of the pilot study will provide an evidence base for future policy in this area and for guidance to local authorities on best practice in this area.

Environment Minister Elliot Morley said: "This is an important step forward in identifying effective ways to encourage householders to re-use, recycle and compost more of their waste, and reduce its production in the first instance.

"We cannot achieve our national and international goals for sustainable waste management without every household playing their part. I hope also that local authorities will use this opportunity to work together with local partners including the community sector and local media, to harness their skills in influencing behaviour too.

"By trialling new and innovative incentives, and monitoring and evaluating the success of existing schemes, the household incentive pilot will enable us to highlight good practice and what works best in local circumstances, and identify the costs and benefits associated with different schemes. Not only will this give us a better understanding at national level of what influences behaviour to help with future policy in this area, it will also help individual councils find the right option for them as part of their overall strategy for managing waste more sustainably