The governments plans for new bin tax on local family homes were in disarray today as it was revealed they have been savaged by the Government's own green watchdog, the Environment Agency. And new analysis shows the volume of fly-tipping will double under Labour plans, on top of record levels of dumping already.

· Watchdog sounds alarm: Using Freedom of Information laws, Conservatives have forced the Government to reveal the advice given in response to its plans to levy new bin taxes. The Environment Agency warns that the bin taxes will lead to "increases in fly-tipping of household waste as householders seek to avoid any additional costs and simply dump their waste" which will "impact the environment". They also caution that this in turn will attract businesses to illegally dump waste.

· Families will be hit say rural campaigners: At the same time, the Countryside Alliance, acting as the voice of rural communities, have told Ministers that "fly-tipping is already at epidemic levels"; bin taxes will mean more "fly-tipping, back-garden burning and other types of illegal waste disposal", and "larger families and poorer families will be detrimentally hit".

· Dumping already at record levels: The latest analysis of recent Government figures has shown that fly-tipping has risen by a shocking 186% in the last three years, adding a massive £213 million to council tax bills over that period. Three out of four fly-tips are now household waste, reflecting cuts to weekly rubbish collections and 'no side waste' policies - town balls banning rubbish bags being placed next to bins.

· Fly-tipping volumes will double under bin taxes: New answers to Parliamentary Questions have revealed that 140,000 tonnes of household rubbish were fly-tipped last year. Yet the Government's own bin tax consultants have warned that the new taxes will mean an additional 155,308 tonnes of fly-tipping per year. Fly-tipping will take the form of dumping waste in open spaces, disposing of waste in litter bins and neighbour's bins, hiding refuse in recycling collections, and 'waste tourism' - travelling to dump waste across the municipal border.

Cllr Mark Brunt, Merstham Ward Councilllor said:

"This is yet another example of where the government's big brother knows best approach to rubbish has been shown the wrong."

"Most residents feel like me that they are already paying for their rubbish to be collected through their council tax and that any other new tax would only encourage those people who don't care about reducing rubbish to dump their rubbish in our green places or other peoples bins."

"Residents want to see a common sense approach to this that reduces the amount of packaging generated at source while make it easier for people to recycle more."