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Councils cannot rely solely on creating less waste and recycling more if they are to meet European Union targets to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill, the Audit Commission has warned.

In a report, Well Disposed: responding to the waste challenge, it said investment in waste disposal technologies that convert waste into energy or fuel will have the most significant impact on landfill reduction and that delays to the projects pose the greatest threat to achieving the EU targets.

If these schemes were delayed by just two years, England would exceed its landfill allocation by 13% and incur £140m in penalties which would be picked up by the taxpayer, it said.

The commission warned that councils that are struggling to find effective ways of reducing their landfill cannot afford to do nothing. Even if England as a whole meets the 2013 target, those authorities that exceed their individual landfill allocations could still be facing fines of as much as £2m each - this bill could only be paid by increasing council tax or cutting services, it warned.

Chairman of the Audit Commission, Michael O'Higgins, said: "People are waking up to waste. Millions of cans, bottles and plastic bags now get recycled into other things instead of getting dumped in a hole in the ground. But you only have to look in your own bin to see that not everything you throw away can be recycled, so we've got to find somewhere other than landfill to put it.

"We must keep up the pressure to reduce, reuse and recycle but if we are to avoid being heavily fined for failing to meet the 2013 target then we must also push ahead with the treatment plants that are in the pipeline."

The European Union Landfill Directive requires the UK to reduce the amount of biodegradable municipal waste landfill to 75%, 50% and 35% of its 1995 level by 2010, 2013 and 2020 respectively.

If the UK does not meet these targets, the government and therefore taxpayers face the threat of fines at a national level.

Clicke here to read the report.