Introduction Background Note
4.Landfill tax was introduced on 1 October 1996 to encourage waste producers and the waste management industry to switch to more sustainable alternatives to landfilling waste. The tax applies to active and inactive waste disposed of at authorised landfill sites. Active waste attracts the standard rate of tax, while a lower rate applies to qualifying wastes listed in a Treasury Order.
5.The Government announced at Budget 2009 that the standard rate would continue to increase by £8 per tonne on 1 April each year from 2011-12 to 2013-14. Budget 2010 announced that the rate would increase by a further £8 per tonne in 2014-15. These increases aim to encourage greater diversion of waste from landfill to more sustainable waste management options.
6.The Government announced in Budget 2010 that the lower rate of landfill tax would be frozen at £2.50 per tonne in 2011-12.