THE tax bill for burying Merseyside’s rubbish is set to soar to more than £100m as the region fails to deal with its waste mountain.

Spending on landfill will spiral by 50% during the next three years as government taxes increase and the city region is punished for producing more rubbish than it is allowed to throw away.

Waste bosses are also warning plans to build an incinerator to burn rubbish – thereby reducing landfill – are at risk of falling through and could be another massive drain on finances.

They say difficulties buying their chosen site are threatening to delay the scheme, which could mean the loss of Government cash and force them to go back to the drawing board. Merseyside Waste Disposal Authority (MWDA) is hoping the incinerator will solve the region’s reliance on landfill sites and curb the huge bill for burying waste.

But a budget report being discussed by authority members on Friday reveals how the plans – known as the Resource Recovery Contract (RRC) – are hanging in the balance.

It says: “The outcome of the RRC is unclear and despite the authority’s best efforts the potential costs of the contract may continue to grow.

“A key element of the uncertainty over timing and costs is the procurement by the authority of a site for the potential RRC solution.

“At this stage, there is some uncertainty that the authority will be able to secure the site that is regarded as offering the best fit for a solution, and even if it does what the overall cost of the solution will be.”

If the incinerator plans fall through, it means the region will continue to rely on landfill to dispose of waste.

But under government plans, punitive landfill taxes – designed to discourage burying rubbish – will rise by more than 50% over the next four years.

The region will spend £19.6m on landfill taxes this financial year, then £22.9m in 2010/2011, £26.7m in 2011/12 and, if we keep producing waste at similar rates, £30.6m in 2012/13. That will mean the Government will take £99.8m from the region over four years.

European targets for how much rubbish can be sent to landfill also led the Environment Agency to set up a Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme (LATS). This sets quotas for each region for how many tonnes of waste can be buried. Regions that bury less can sell their credits to those struggling to deal with their waste.

Last January, MWDA councillors agreed to pay a North-East authority £3.4m for more credits.

Now it has emerged it is set to spend another £2.8m on credits so it can bury yet more rubbish.

The eye-watering tax bill prompted the leader of Liverpool’s Green Party, Cllr John Coyne, to hit out at the short-sightedness of Merseyside’s waste bosses.