Environment Minister Ben Bradshaw announced that the UK government will be unveiling plans on Thursday to address Britain's poor recycling rates and reduce reliance on landfill sites. The government is considering implementing positive incentive schemes, such as financial rewards, for residents. The upcoming Waste Strategy, to be presented by Environment Secretary David Miliband, will detail how the government intends to comply with strict EU regulations on landfill waste reduction in England. A consultation document from last year proposed increasing household waste recycling and composting rates from 27 percent to 40 percent by 2010 and 50 percent by 2020. Currently, Britain ranks low in Europe's recycling league, with only Greece and Portugal recycling less according to the Institute for Public Policy Research and the Green Alliance. Campaigners are calling for the government to implement increasing fees for waste collection in order to promote more recycling among households. A recent consultation showed strong public support for some form of variable charging, although there are concerns that this could result in more illegal dumping. Bradshaw emphasized the importance of increasing recycling rates and reducing reliance on landfills to prevent environmental damage. He also highlighted the benefits of recycling, such as creating energy and reducing methane emissions. Despite these arguments, Bradshaw believes that collection schedules should still be managed by local authorities. Some councils have angered many residents by changing to bi-weekly waste collections. Friends of the Earth believes that businesses should have mandatory recycling goals. They have criticized government plans to construct more incinerators, stating that this would be detrimental to the environment as incinerators emit more carbon dioxide than gas-fired power stations.