Limits set for disposal of waste in English landfills

The minister has written to the 121 councils in England that have waste disposal responsibilities, issuing the final allocation of landfill allowances under the Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme (LATS).

” This scheme will encourage the move away from landfill and towards more sustainable waste management. “
– Elliot Morley

• Click here for a list of council landfill allowances for 2005/06 until 2020.

A key measure in meeting the landfill diversion requirements of the European Landfill Directive, LATS will see waste disposal authorities set ever-decreasing limits on the amount of biodegradable waste they can send to landfill each year. These allowances can be traded between authorities if surplus amounts are available.

The Landfill Directive requires the amount of biodegradable waste going to landfill to be cut to 75% of 1995 waste levels by 2010, 50% by 2013 and 35% by 2020. Missing these targets could see the UK facing fines from Europe of 180 million a year.

Cost effective
Announcing the final landfill allowances today, Elliot Morley said LATS would be the “most cost effective way” to meet the Landfill Directive targets.

Mr Morley said: “Combined with existing waste targets, this scheme will encourage the move away from landfill and towards more sustainable waste management practices.”

In the first four years of the LATS system, the total amount of municipal waste going to landfill in England should drop from about 15.2 million tonnes to 12.5 million tonnes. If the trading scheme is a long-term success, this should fall to just 5.2 million tonnes in the year 2020.

Fines
Under LATS, councils face fines of 150 for every tonne of biodegradable waste they send to landfill above the amount covered by the allowances they hold in each year.

Those that recycle or incinerate increasing proportions of their waste could potentially make millions selling allowances to those councils unable to make progress diverting material from landfill. Councils that cannot meet their allowance obligations for a year could face costs running into the millions, however, affecting local Council Tax rates.

Councils will also be able to “bank” their unused landfill allowances for use in later years, or “borrow” limited amounts of their future allocation of allowances to help them balance the books. However, neither banking nor borrowing can occur during the years in which the UK faces Landfill Directive targets.

Early research carried out by the Local Government Association last year suggested that in the first few years of LATS, prices for landfill allowances traded among councils would be low because of strong availability.

But, the LGA survey of councils suggested that demand may begin to outstrip supply from 2008/09, with “a serious deficit position emerging after 2009/10” (see letsrecycle.com story).