The LGA has warned that council taxpayers are facing a £2bn bill, unless money raised through landfill tax is reinvested. Councils currently have to pay £32 in tax for every tonne of rubbish which is sent to landfill and that figure is set to rise to £48 a tonne by 2010. Local authorities will also face EU fines from 2010 of £150 for every tonne of rubbish that is dumped. The LGA estimates fines will total £200m by 2013. ‘Landfill is, quite literally, costing councils the earth, and it must not be the town halls that pick up the £2bn bill,' said LGA environment board chairman, Cllr Paul Bettison. ‘Dumping rubbish in a hole in the ground isn't just bad for the environment, it threatens to hit the council taxpayer with a double whammy of costs from landfill tax and EU fines,' he added. ‘Despite repeating requests, the Government is yet to demonstrate in a clear and transparent way how this money is being given back to local authorities to keep council tax down, and build the waste and recycling facilities that the country needs.'