Construction materials taxes, such as Britains aggregates tax, should be used widely to encourage the building sector to waste fewer materials, the European Environment Agency has said.
In a report it said the British tax gave the construction sector confidence when purchasing materials since part of the levy revenues have been used to support the development of quality standards for recycled aggregates. The report said that such environmental taxation schemes can help improve the quality and reliability of extraction data used to encourage changes in quarry management in particular. Environmental taxes on construction materials can be a key element in achieving better sustainability in the construction sector, concluded the report, which also assessed construction material taxation schemes in the Czech Republic, Italy and Sweden.
In Italy and the Czech Republic there was little evidence of improved landscape through reduced extraction, but Sweden was found to have reduced demand for natural gravel, important for guaranteeing groundwater quality.
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