Land fill tax
What is landfill tax?
To enable an increase in recycling, the Government introduced a tax for every tonne of 'active' waste, (which includes household and commercial waste), deposited at landfill sites. The aim was - and remains - to reduce the amount of waste thrown away in landfill sites by increasing the cost to do so, and to increase the use of more environmentally friendly waste management techniques such as recycling
When first introduced in 1996 the tax was originally set at £7 per tonne. By 2005/06 the rate has risen to £18 per tonne. Landfill Tax will cost this authority £3.6million for the 2005/06 financial year. In order to divert waste from landfill and meet the targets under the Landfill Directive, the Government has committed to increasing the rate of the Landfill Tax by at least £3 per tonne for each year from 2005/06, to a rate of £35 per tonne in the medium to long term.
The money raised through this tax goes to the Government, and a fair proportion of this is donated back to community groups and organisations living next to landfill sites for environmental improvement schemes and other community projects, and also into developing new recycling facilities and initiatives.