THE Swindon fridge mountain could soon be joined by foothills of irons, toasters and microwave ovens.

That is the fear of South West Conservative MEP Caroline Jackson.

She spoke out after fellow MEPs agreed a new European Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive.

It calls on manufacturers to make their goods more recyclable and member states to put recycling systems in place.

Dr Jackson fears the move could lead to mountains of discarded goods being formed as councils struggle to deal with them.

A similar ruling involving old refrigerators has led to a "fridge graveyard" being formed at Barnfield in Swindon.

Dr Jackson said: "In principle, this directive should provide benefits across the EU, and it is supported by all member states for that reason.

"But collection of such equipment from households will cost money, and while member states can choose to cover such cost by means of general taxation, the cost will in principle fall on local authorities.

"The UK Government must make its position clear as soon as possible."

The MEP added: "If we are not very careful, this will be 'Son of Fridges'.

"The UK Government is still failing to establish standards for the recycling of old fridges, so that they are piling up while the bureaucrats get the paperwork right.

"They pushed most of the burden of their incompetence on to local authorities, who have been faced with huge storage bills.

"This time, the UK Government should get its act together."

According to the latest figures, every year sees some six million tonnes of electrical goods discarded in the European Union, ranging from microwaves to mobile telephones.

Most of these items find their way into either landfill or incineration.

Environmentalists say neither of these options is satisfactory.