The Bill, which is currently proceeding through the UK Parliament and is expected to lead to a consultation in England in the autumn, would introduce a system of tradable landfill permits to reduce the UK's reliance on landfill. The Bill, and the resultant permit trading system, is to be the UK government's prime measure to meet the landfill diversion targets laid out in the European Landfill Directive.
Implementation of the Bill in Wales will be through the Municipal Waste Management (Wales) Regulations. As in England, waste disposal authorities will take their responsibility for reducing the UK's biodegradable waste going to landfill to 75% of 1995 waste levels by 2010, 50% by 2013 and 35% by 2020.
In Wales, the total amount of biodegradable waste landfilled is likely to be:
- 710,000 tonnes in 2010
- 470,000 tonnes in 2010
- 330,000 tonnes in 2020
These figures are based on the 1.1 million tonnes of waste landfilled by Welsh authorities in 2000-01.
Under the terms of the Waste and Emissions Trading Bill, this reduction will be encouraged by the use of permits to landfill a certain amount of biodegradable waste. The allocations of permits to local authorities will decrease over the years in line with the Landfill Directive targets. Permits will be tradable so that authorities with high landfill rates may buy extra permits from authorities with low landfill rates, in order to spread the burden of the UK's targets.
Commenting on the consultation, Welsh Assembly Minister for the Environment Carwyn Jones said: “We are committed to ensuring that we make our contribution towards the United Kingdom meeting its targets in the years to come. This consultation contains details of a landfill allowance scheme that will limit the amount of BMW that waste disposal authorities in Wales send to landfill sites, in accordance with the requirements of Article 5 of the Directive.”
He continued: “Implementation of the Waste and Emissions Trading Bill, including the proposed Municipal Waste Management (Wales) Regulations, will have a major impact on local authority waste management.”
Mr Jones urged all stakeholders to respond to the consultation, which closes on November 1, 2003.
All consultation responses should be submitted in writing to:
Mrs Julie Osmond
Waste Policy Branch
Environmental Protection Division
The Welsh Assembly Government
Cathays Park
Cardiff CF10 3NQ
Or by email to: Julie.Osmond@wales.gsi.gov.uk
For more information on the Waste and Emissions Trading Bill, see the letsrecycle.com legislation section.
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