DEFRA proposes new landfill classification scheme

The way waste going to landfill is classified is to be changed under plans drawn up by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

The proposed new regime will see more commercial waste recorded, whereas the existing system focuses principally on waste collected by local authorities from households.

The move, intended to bring the UK into line with a number of other EU member states, is based on the EU list of wastes or ‘European Waste Catalogue’. The new approach will include all biodegradable waste landfilled that is coded under Chapter 20 – entitled “Municipal Waste (household waste and similar commercial, industrial and institutional wastes)”. It will also include some waste coded under chapter 19 which covers waste landfilled that has been through some form of treatment process.

DEFRA said the new method of recording would lead to a significant increase in the amount of waste sent to landfill that is counted within the ‘municipal waste’ category. As a result, the department expects that the UK’s expected landfill diversion targets, as required under the EU Landfill Directive, are expected to increase by the same proportion to reflect the inclusion of additional commercial waste.

There will be no requirement for local authorities to manage this additional waste, which is currently dealt with by private sector waste management companies, the Department added. “In making this change, we want to ensure that local authorities are not disadvantaged,” it said.

The new regime is not expected to impact on the UK’s ability to meet the targets contained in the directive and DEFRA expects the UK to remain on course to meet the 2010 target.

“Making this change is an opportunity to review the range of policies in place to divert waste from landfill,” DEFRA said. “This includes considering the role that the Landfill Allowance Schemes have to play, planned increases in the landfill tax, and potentially additional restrictions or bans at landfill.”

DEFRA expects to consult on the implications of this change early next year.