Landfill Tax

This page has been archived and, as of March 2012, is no-longer maintained by WRAP. 

Landfill tax is a tax on the disposal of waste. It applies to all waste disposed of at landfills. It has been introduced to encourage waste producers to produce less waste and recover more value from waste.

The low rate of £2.50 per tonne, introduced in April 2008, applies to those inactive (or inert) wastes listed in Schedule 2 of the Landfill Tax (Qualifying Material) Order 1996.

A standard rate applies to all other taxable wastes. From April 2012 the standard landfill tax rate is £64 per tonne, which is set to continue to increase by £8 per tonne per year at least up until 2014.

Please visit the Landfill Tax page of the Business Link website for more details. 

Waste arising from the following activities is exempt subject to meeting certain conditions: 

• some dredging activities
• quarrying and mining
• pet cemeteries
• reclamation of contaminated land.

Inert waste used for the following activities is exempt subject to meeting certain conditions: 

• landfill restoration
• filling quarries.

Landfill operators can apply to have tax-free status for any part of a site that is not used for landfill, but for: 

• recycling waste 
• incinerating waste
• sorting waste pending its disposal or transfer
• storing inactive waste for use in landfill restoration
• sorting material to obtain the above.

Tax credits are available for waste that landfill operators send:

• for recycling, incineration or re-use
• to another landfill site.

Please note that from 01 September 2009, since the coming into force of  The Landfill Tax (Prescribed Landfill Site Activities) Order 2009, more activities are to be treated as disposal than before, and hence attract the relevant rate of taxation. These activities include, within others, the use of material to create or maintain a temporary haul road, a hard standing, a cell bund or a screening bund (for the latter, only if the material has been imported).