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A new report says supermarkets are adding to the costs of local councils through their packaging policies.

In the Local Government Association report, it wants supermarkets to pay more for processing their waste.

Kent’s local councils all seem to be contemplating redundancies as a result of shortages of funding claim environmentalists.

Dr Hazel Dawe, Chair, Kent Green Party explained: “Landfill is costing our Kent local councils £32 per tonne of rubbish thrown away, rising to £48 per tonne in 2010. Supermarket packaging which cannot be recycled is making a major contribution to this, according to a recent Local Government Association report.

"Since local councils will spend £1.8 billion on landfill 2008-2010, Kent Green Party supports Kent’s local councils charging supermarkets more for their contributions to landfill. We want to encourage the supermarkets to use less packaging and to make more of their packaging recyclable.

“Given the massive increases in recycling in recent years, and the consumer switch away from plastic bags to canvass bags and shopping trolleys, the supermarkets need to help consumers by reducing the amount of packaging they use and ensuring all of it can be recycled.

"Producing less waste going to landfill will reduce costs for our cash-starved local councils.

“It is a great pity that central Government is not supporting local government properly and that this is promoting redundancies in consequence. Instead the Government prefers to prop up the worst-behaved elements of our banking system.”