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

context of UK waste management where landfill gate fees are of the order £20 per
tonne before landfill tax, with tax currently (in April 2009) at £40 per tonne. The
business case for dealing with waste in ways other than landfilling has been
considerably strengthened by the prospect of fines, or the need to purchase
allowances at a relatively high cost.
Interestingly, however, although many local authorities developed business cases on
the basis that fines could be triggered, in England, where trading is allowed, the value
at which allowances have been traded has been rather low. This was to be expected
in early years since WDAs’ allocation of allowances were based on a system of
grandfathering, with allowances issued tapering towards a fixed share of the UK
quota of allowances for the first target year, 2009/10 (the UK has availed itself of the
four-year derogation, available to those countries who were landfilling more than 80%
of their municipal waste in 1995).
In target years, and one year immediately before and after each target year, the
freedom to bank and borrow allowances is completely, and partially restricted,
respectively. This means that from 2009/10 to 2012/13, there is limited potential to
bank and borrow allowances, moving the allowance market into a ‘clearing’ situation.
Many commentators expect allowance values to increase as a result of supply being
much tighter, and demand for allowances increasing. Even so, forward purchases of
allowances are beginning to occur for those years, and prices for allowances of
between £12-£25 are being offered.
This suggests that, as with many other allowance trading schemes, the traded value
of allowances may be lower than commentators have expected. However, it remains
too early to say how the market will look in 2012/13, with recent commentators still
suggesting a shortfall is possibly, and indeed, likely.
55.11 Evasion and Enforcement
The Environment Agency has audited data from WDAs and has commented upon the
issues which are arising in terms of reporting of data. 1027 They report on data as
received, and some comments are picked up below, but a more general issues with
the scheme is the way in which it has led to shift in waste across administrative
categories, from ‘municipal’ waste into commercial waste, though local authorities
withdrawing from the provision of collection services for commercial waste.
Defra has tried to clarify the way in which non-household waste is to be dealt with by
local authorities. Specifically, it has sought to restrict the degree to which local
authorities can reduce the amount of commercial waste they collect by providing
clarification of its interpretation of Section 45(1) of the Environmental Protection Act
1990. 1028 However, would-be commercial waste customers choosing, in possession of
1027 Environment Agency (2008) Report on the Landfill Allowances and Trading Scheme 2007/08,
November 2008.
1028 Defra (2004) Municipal Waste, Commercial Waste and the Landfill Allowances Trading Scheme,
http://www.defra.gov.uk/ENVIRONMENT/waste/localauth/lats/pdf/lats-municipalwastedefine.pdf.
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International Review of Waste Policy: Annexes