Waste tax set to take off
15 Jan 2000
The other main levy affecting the process industries is the increase in the landfill levy. Previously charged at £7 per tonne for `active' wastes and £2 per tonne for inert materials, this was increased by £3 per tonne from 1st April for active waste, as part of a phased series of increases that will take the levy to £15 per tonne for by 2005.
The rationale is to encourage firms to recycle rather than dump their waste.
A series of tax credits for companies making donations to environmental projects has also helped towards this goal; so much so that recycling of construction wastes is now at an all-time high. However, this has had an unforseen effect - there is a shortage of materials being made available to restore landfill sites. The government has brought in a tax exemption for inert wastes to solve this somewhat unexpected problem - this will come into effect from October.
