Why a landfill tax?
Nationally we are generating some 400m tonnes of waste each year and this is growing by 3% each year. Industrial and commercial waste accounts for around 20% of total waste and over half of this goes to landfill. Neither landfilling nor incineration provides sustainable long-term solutions for dealing with the level of waste on this scale. Government introduced the Landfill Tax to stimulate reductions in the levels of business waste going to landfill. This complements the work of the Waste Implementation Programme in tackling municipal waste. The Government is committed to increase the rate of Landfill Tax by 3 per annum. Landfill tax will therefore increase from 21 per tonne to 35 per tonne in the medium to long-term.
