The Northern Ireland Landfill Allowances Scheme (NILAS) means local authorities have been set limits on the amount of biodegradable municipal waste they can send to landfill each year.
” I would rather see public money going into schemes that reduce the damage we do to our environment than going to pay fines to the European Union. “
– Lord Rooker
Northern Ireland's local authorities have already been set allowances for April 2005 until March 2006, but this week sees the Department of the Environment setting allowances all the way up until 2020.
The limits on council landfilling get progressively tighter towards 2020 in line with the landfill diversion targets under Europe's Landfill Directive. Councils landfilling more than their allowances cover face financial penalties.
Lord Rooker said: “We must reduce landfilling and increase the recycling and re-use of the waste we just chuck in our bins and forget about. So I am announcing the allocation of allowances under the Northern Ireland Landfill Allowances Scheme.”
Northern Ireland's audit office warned last month that at current growth rates in levels of waste generation, there is a significant risk that existing landfill capacity could be exhausted this year, should current planning applications for new capacity be unsuccessful.
Under the landfill allowance allocations, Northern Ireland's total landfill reduces from 669,885 tonnes in 2005/06 to 470,000 tonnes in 2009/10. Ultimately the amount of landfill should fall to 320,000 tonnes a year by 2012/13 and 220,000 tonnes a year by 2019/2020.
The largest Northern Irish authority by population, Belfast, has been set a 116,877 tonnes allocation of allowances for 2005/06, falling to 72,218 tonnes in 2009/10, 48,123 tonnes by 2012/13 and 32,177 tonnes by 2019/2020.
Fines
If the UK does not meet the EU Landfill Directive's targets to reduce landfilling to 75% of 1995 levels by 2010, 50% by 2013 and 35% by 2020, it faces fines that could run to 180 million a year. If Northern Ireland has failed to meet its targets, it will have to pay a proportion of the UK fine, the Department said.
Lord Rooker said: “I would rather see public money going into schemes that reduce the damage we do to our environment than going to pay fines to the European Union. Central government has formed a partnership with local government to address this unglamorous, but crucial issue.”
The Department of Environment's new minister added that local and central government need the support of householders to “do their bit” in recycling their waste, or “pay the consequences in higher rates bills”.
Decisions
Responding to the announcement from the government, Northern Irish local authorities said the challenges ahead would require some “very hard decisions”.
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John Quinn, chief executive of the Arc21 group of eleven councils in the eastern region of Northern Ireland, said: “The challenges ahead are challenges that face us all and this year will be particularly demanding as some very hard decisions are required if we are to put in place the right measures to give us any chance of avoiding the fines.
“Working in partnership will be the key component to Northern Ireland meeting the challenges head on,” Mr Quinn added.
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