Taxpayers in Oxfordshire have been warned their bills will soar unless the county dramatically improves its recycling record.

The Government's junior environment minister Ben Bradshaw said residents would "pay the price" because of his plans to hike the tax for dumping waste in landfill sites.

The so-called "landfill tax escalator" is due to rise by £3 per tonne every year from its current level of £18 per tonne, until it reaches £35 per tonne.

At that point, the tax will be almost double the current level punishing local councils that continue to use landfill.

In 2004/05 Oxfordshire County Council recycled 30 per cent of household waste and last year, 2005/06, 33 per cent.

But Mr Bradshaw said more needed to be done. He said: "As the landfill escalator hits in as one of the major financial incentives, council taxpayers will pay the price for the poor performance of their local authorities.

"It is not merely good for the environment to recycle, reuse and compost it is, in the long run, also cheaper for taxpayers."

Local authorities with poor recycling rates could "buy" allowances to dump more waste in landfill, but Mr Bradshaw warned that would also cost taxpayers.

But Green county councillor Craig Simmons said: "Raising landfill tax, without making funds available to councils for investment in alternatives, is not the way to deliver a sensible waste management policy.

"The most environmentally sensible option is to reduce waste and maximise recycling and reuse.

"Incineration is not a solution, you waste up to four times more energy by burning something than recycling it. The UK's recycling rate is well below that of many other European countries. .

"On its own raising landfill tax is unlikely to result in sustainable waste management."

Britain currently recycles 22 per cent of its household waste while other countries such as Germany, Austria, Holland and Belgium all recycle more than half.