VAT should be lifted from the cost of repairing televisions, vacuum cleaners and fridges to discourage people from throwing them away as soon as they stop working, the Government will be told today.

The House of Lords Science Committee argues that with electronic appliances getting cheaper and labour more expensive, most householders are not prepared to pay the high costs of repairing goods. As a result, more and more appliances are being dumped into landfill and replaced by the latest design on the market.

“Waste could be reduced if consumers were encouraged to retain products for longer and repair them when necessary. Changes to the value-added tax regime may be required,” the peers say.

Repairing a vacuum cleaner costs at least £50, roughly the same price as a new model. Repairs for televisions, computers and cameras are often more than £100 and fewer people now take out warranties to guard against breakdown. Calling in a plumber or electrician to mend a fridge or washing machine can be even more costly.

The report suggests that VAT should also be reduced or removed from the servicing of goods.

The Lords committee admits that it may not be in manufacturers' interests to build longer-lasting goods, and suggest that the manufacturers be given an incentive to make sustainable goods. The committee argues that variable VAT should be introduced so that goods that use sustainable materials would attract lower rates of VAT or none at all.

The Government also comes under attack for neglecting business waste in its efforts to boost recycling. The peers claim that landfill targets and penalties are aimed at councils, which only create 9 per cent of Britain's waste. Of the remainder, 32 per cent comes from demolition and construction, 30 per cent from mining and quarrying, 13 per cent from industry and 11 per cent from the commercial sector.

Lord O'Neill of Clackmannan, who chaired the Lords Science Sub-Committee on Waste Reduction, said that there had been an impressive increase in recycling of domestic waste in the past few years, but this only represented a tiny fraction of all waste generated in Britain. “It is time for the Government to remove its priorities from household waste to the far greater problem of industrial and commercial waste,” Lord O'Neill said. “We would also like to see the VAT regime reformed so that products that have a long life cycle and can be easily and cheaply repaired are made economically more attractive,” he added.

The waste reduction report says that the campaign to boost recycling among householders had meant that moves to reduce waste had been overlooked, with many consumers unaware of the impact of the goods they were buying. It also criticises the Government's decision to cut the budgets of agencies such as the Waste Resource Allocation Programme, created to encourage more sustainable business practices.

Joan Ruddock, the minister responsible for waste, said it was wrong to suggest that the Government had focused disproportionately on domestic waste. “The landfill tax escalator specifically targets business and commerce as high waste producers. We have a big programme of engagement with business and have invested over £650m in the last three years to establish best practice and help organisations and the public adopt less wasteful behaviour,” she said.

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