International Review of Waste Management Policy - Department of ...

55.0 Landfill Allowance Schemes (UK)
55.1 Outline of Policy
The principle policy for ensuring that the targets under Article 5 of the Landfill
Directive are met in the UK are the Landfill Allowances Schemes (LASs). The targets,
and hence, the LASs, apply only to municipal waste, and so, the definition of
municipal waste acquires some significance.
55.1.1 UK Definition of Municipal Waste
“Municipal waste” is defined in Article 2(b) of the Landfill Directive as: 1009
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“waste from households, as well as waste which, because of its nature or
composition, is similar to waste from households”.
When implementing the Landfill Directive, UK Government followed the ‘copyout
approach’ and included a definition of ‘municipal waste’ in the Waste and Emissions
Trading Act that is similar to that in the Landfill Directive: 1010
“(a) waste from households, and
(b) other waste that, because of its nature or composition, is similar to waste
from households.”
In an attempt to provide certainty and clarity through consistent interpretation the
Government set out, in guidance which was the subject of repeated consultation, its
view that this definition encompasses ‘all waste under the control of local
authorities’. Under this interpretation it follows that any waste which passes the test
of being in the possession or under the control of a waste disposal or collection
authority, and so potentially within the LAS regime, also passes the test of being
municipal waste, and so is within the LAS regime. It is on this interpretation that LAS
has been designed and operates.
55.1.2 Devolved Administrations and The Role of Waste Disposal
Authorities
Prior to the late 1990s, the market for municipal waste services could be considered
to be ‘a UK one’. Even so, within the UK, different waste management companies
have their own regional strongholds, as well as their own areas of specific expertise.
Since the late 1990s, the different devolved administrations have started to shape
their waste management strategies in ways which are specific to their own
circumstances and priorities. They have, however, been constrained in their ability to
1009 Council Directive 1999/31/EC of 26 April 1999 on the landfill of waste Official Journal L 182 ,
16/07/1999 P. 0001 – 0019.
1010 Waste and Emissions Trading Act 2003, Part 1: Waste, 13 th November 2003.