Landfill tax set to increase to £48 per tonne
Greenwise Staff
1st March 2010
Landfill tax is set to increase from £40 to £48 a tonne from April 1 2010, as the Government attempts to reduce the amount of waste that ends up in the ground.
More than 330 million tonnes of
waste is produced in the UK each year and under the EU Landfill Directive, member states are required to cut the amount of biodegradable municipal waste they send to landfill to 75 per cent of 1995 levels in 2010, 50 per cent in 2013 and 35 per cent by 2020.
As such, targets and standards are tightening, and costs of waste disposal going up. Following next month's increase, landfill tax is set to increase by £8 per tonne each April up to and including April 2013, when landfill tax will have reached £72 per ton.
According to the Government, in 2008 the total environmental cost of waste sent to landfill and incinerators in the UK, rather than being recycled, was £211 million and £125 million, respectively.
It says managing resources more
efficiently could save the UK economy £6.4 billion every year – with most of these savings coming from
energy efficiency and waste management.
The Environmental Services Association, which represents the waste and secondary resource management industry, says it is working with the Government to ensure that many more of the UK’s
smaller businesses switch to higher recycling. It is thought that a lack of recycling collections for small and medium-sized enterprises is hampering progress.
Related news:Environmental regulation newsWaste & recycling newsResource efficiency newsRelated links:www.defra.gov.ukwww.wrap.org.ukwww.esauk.org
