The option is buried within a consultation paper issued this week on a tradable permits scheme to help ensure that landfilled waste in England and Wales is reduced by almost two-thirds has been published by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions. The paper covers England although similar systems are envisaged for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
EU rules say that by 2020 the amount of biodegradable municipal waste
landfilled must be cut to 35% of 1995 levels.
Now the government has outlined proposals for tradable landfill permits for
waste disposal authorities, including:
- how permits and the EU Directive targets could be allocated to individual authorities
- how the trading mechanism will work – for example, an authority which
chose to
invest in recycling would be able to trade permits it no longer needed with
an authority
which remained reliant on landfill - monitoring arrangements to ensure the integrity of the system and that
the UK is able
to achieve its targets - what sanctions there should be to prevent non-compliance
Target dates
Permits would grant waste disposal authorities the right to landfill a certain amount of biodegradable waste, levels which will be reduced to meet each of the three target dates:
75% of 1995 levels by 2010, 50% by 2013, and 35% by 2020.
Tradable lanfill permits are described by the Department as a “flexible economic insturment, new to waste management in the UK.” And, the DETR believes they will minimise the cost of meeting the Landfill Directive while giving councils freedom to meet the targets. Under the system, councils which send more waste for recycling will have permits left over so they can sell or give them to other councils.
The whole paper can be seen in PDF form at Permit consultation.
Junior environment minister Bob Ainsworth, making what is thought to be his first announcement in his new post, announced the consultation.
He said: “The Waste Strategy 2000 set targets for the recovery of municipal waste and the recycling and composting of household waste and the reduction in the landfilling of biodegradable municipal waste.
In Waste Strategy 2000 we announced that we would consult on the design and operation of a scheme of tradable landfill permits for waste disposal authorities to meet the landfill diversion targets. We have published that consultation paper today.
“Waste Strategy 2000 also announced targets for doubling the recycling or composting of household waste within three years and nearly tripling it within five years, to be underpinned by statutory performance standards for each local authority under the Best Value regime.”
The consultation says that each permit will convey the right for a waste disposal authority to landfill a certain amount of biodegradable municipal waste (BMW) in a given period. Authorities will not therefore be obliged to trade the permits if they do not wish to – they can meet their targets purely through diversion away from landfill.”
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