Landfill in the UK
Encyclopedia
Locations of UK Landfills
The locations of landfills in the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
are available online. For landfills in England and Wales see the "what's in your backyard" section of the Environment Agency
Environment Agency
The Environment Agency is a British non-departmental public body of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and an Assembly Government Sponsored Body of the Welsh Assembly Government that serves England and Wales.-Purpose:...
website. For landfills in Scotland see the Waste infrastructure maps section of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency
Scottish Environment Protection Agency
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency is Scotland’s environmental regulator. Its main role is to protect and improve Scotland's environment...
website. Data for landfills in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
are held as lists in the Public Registers section of the Northern Ireland Environment Agency website.
UK Landfill Policy
Landfill in the UK is currently recognised as the Best practicable environmental optionBest practicable environmental option
The Best Practicable Environmental Option , is a set of procedures adopted by Great Britain with the goal of managing waste and other environmental concerns. According to the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, BPEO "emphasises the protection and conservation of the environment across...
(BPEO) for the disposal of certain waste types
Waste types
Waste comes in many different forms:*Solid Wastes*Gaseous Wastes*Animal by-products*Biodegradable waste*Biomedical waste*Bulky waste*Business waste*Chemical waste*Clinical waste*Coffee wastewater*Commercial waste...
. In order to apply the principles of the EC 5th Programme of Policy & Action in relation to the environment and sustainable development
Sustainable development
Sustainable development is a pattern of resource use, that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come...
the Government has prepared a waste strategy. The waste strategy policy on landfill is to promote landfill practices which will achieve stabilisation of landfill
Landfill
A landfill site , is a site for the disposal of waste materials by burial and is the oldest form of waste treatment...
sites within one generation.
This policy is to be implemented through guidance set out in a revised series of waste management
Waste management
Waste management is the collection, transport, processing or disposal,managing and monitoring of waste materials. The term usually relates to materials produced by human activity, and the process is generally undertaken to reduce their effect on health, the environment or aesthetics...
papers on landfill. In addition, the UK and many other countries are parties to the 1992 agreement on sustainable development at the Earth Summit
Earth Summit
The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development , also known as the Rio Summit, Rio Conference, Earth Summit was a major United Nations conference held in Rio de Janeiro from 3 June to 14 June 1992.-Overview:...
. The UK’s strategy for sustainable development was published in 1994. In the field of waste management, the strategy requires that the present generation should deal with the waste it produces and not leave problems to be dealt with by future generations (a generation is considered to be 30–50 years).
In recognition of the increasing quantities of waste that are being disposed of to landfill the Government has, from October 1996, imposed a tax
Tax
To tax is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law. Taxes are also imposed by many subnational entities...
on certain types of waste deposited in landfill. Landfill operators licensed under the Environmental Protection Act
Environmental Protection Act
The Environmental Protection Act 1990 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that defines, within England and Wales and Scotland, the fundamental structure and authority for waste management and control of emissions into the environment.Part I establishes a general regime by which the...
(EPA) or the Pollution Control & Local Government Order 1978 etc. were required to register their liability for the tax by 31 August 1996.
Landfill operators who also use their site for recycling
Recycling
Recycling is processing used materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution and water pollution by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse...
, incineration
Incineration
Incineration is a waste treatment process that involves the combustion of organic substances contained in waste materials. Incineration and other high temperature waste treatment systems are described as "thermal treatment". Incineration of waste materials converts the waste into ash, flue gas, and...
or sorting waste can apply to have the relevant area designated a tax-free site. The tax is administered by HM Revenue & Customs
Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs
Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs is a non-ministerial department of the UK Government responsible for the collection of taxes and the payment of some forms of state support....
(and is known as the landfill tax) and it has been estimated that the tax will raise approximately £500m a year for the exchequer.
The scope of the tax etc. are set down in the Landfill Tax Regulations 1996 (SI 1527). The Landfill Tax
Landfill tax
A landfill tax or levy is a form of tax that is applied in some countries to increase the cost of landfill. The tax is typically levied in units of currency per unit of weight or volume...
(Contaminated Land
Brownfield land
Brownfield sites are abandoned or underused industrial and commercial facilities available for re-use. Expansion or redevelopment of such a facility may be complicated by real or perceived environmental contaminations. Cf. Waste...
) Order 1996 (SI 1529) sets out provisions for exempting waste generated as a result of cleaning up historically contaminated land
Contaminated land
Land that is contaminated contains substances in or under the land that are actually or potentially hazardous to health or the environment. Areas with a long history of industrial production will have many sites which may be affected by their former uses such as mining, industry, chemical and oil...
. The tax is based on the weight of the waste to be deposited, thereby applying the polluter pays principle
Polluter pays principle
In environmental law, the polluter pays principle is enacted to make the party responsible for producing pollution responsible for paying for the damage done to the natural environment. It is regarded as a regional custom because of the strong support it has received in most Organisation for...
. It also aims to promote a more sustainable approach to waste management by providing an incentive to dispose of less waste and to recover more value from waste through recycling.
All waste is currently taxed at £56 per tonne (November 2011), except for the following lower risk wastes where the tax is £2 per tonne:
- Naturally occurring rocks and soils, sand, gravel, clean building or demolition stone, top soil, peat, silt and dredgings
- Ceramic or cemented materials, glass, ceramics, concrete.
Processed or prepared mineral materials which have not been used or contaminated: moulding sands and clays, clay absorbents, manmade mineral fibres, silica and mica.
- Furnace slags.
- Low activity organic compounds.
- Gypsum and calcium sulphate based plaster, if disposed of in a separate containment cell on a mixed landfill site or in an inactive only site.
EPA 1990, Part II
With implementation of the Waste Management Licensing RegulationsWaste Management Licensing Regulations
The Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994 apply in Great Britain to those persons involved in the collection, storage, treatment and disposal of controlled wastes. These activities were previously covered by provisions contained within the Control of Pollution Act 1974...
1994 in May 1994 Part I of the Control of Pollution Act 1974 was finally replaced by Part II of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA). The EPA seeks to build on a system put in place by COPA
COPA
COPA may stand for:* Child Online Protection Act, a former U.S. law to protect minors from certain material on the internet** Not to be confused with the Children's Internet Protection Act , the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act or COPA's predecessor legislation, the Communications Decency...
with stricter licensing controls and other provisions aimed at ensuring waste handling, disposal and recovery operations do not harm the environment. Responsibility for waste rests with the person who produces it together with everyone who handles it, right through to final disposal or reclamation
Water reclamation
Water reclamation is a process by which wastewater from homes and businesses is cleaned using biological and chemical treatment so that the water can be returned to the environment safely to augment the natural systems from which it came...
. Only “fit and proper” persons may run waste sites and responsibility for a closed landfill site will continue until all risks of pollution or harm to human health and safety are past.
The licensing regime enables waste regulation authorities (WRAs) to refuse to accept the surrender of a license. Prior to enablement of the 1990 Act in May 1996, operators could hand back their licenses without restriction, leaving the public purse to cover any restoration and clean-up liabilities. Concern about the scale of those liabilities prompted operators to return licenses for nearly 25% of the waste disposal sites in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
shortly before the new regime came into force. Now under section 39 of the 1990 Act, a WRA can not accept the surrender of a license unless it is satisfied that the condition of the land arising from its use for treating, keeping or disposing of waste is “unlikely” to cause environmental damage or harm human health.
The EC Landfill Directive (from Limiting Landfill: A Consultation
Consultation
The Consultation served as the provisional government of Mexican Texas from November 1835 through March 1836 during the Texas Revolution. Tensions rose in Texas during early 1835 as throughout Mexico federalists began to oppose the increasingly centralist policies of the government. In the...
paper on limiting landfill to meet the EC Landfill Directive's targets for the landfill of biodegradable municipal waste)
Council Directive 1999/31/EC on the landfill of waste (better known as the Landfill Directive) was agreed in Europe at Council on 26 April 1999 and came into force in the EU on 16 July 2001. It was transposed into UK law in 2002. The full text of the Directive was published in the Official Journal of the European Communities L182/1 on 16 July 1999 and is available on the Europa Website – a site dedicated to European law.
The Directive aims to harmonise controls on the landfill of waste throughout the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, and its main focus is on common standards for the design, operation, and aftercare of landfill sites. It also aims to reduce the amount of methane
Methane
Methane is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is the simplest alkane, the principal component of natural gas, and probably the most abundant organic compound on earth. The relative abundance of methane makes it an attractive fuel...
, a powerful greenhouse gas
Greenhouse gas
A greenhouse gas is a gas in an atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone...
, emitted from landfill sites. The UK has a wider legally binding target, agreed at Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
in December 1997, to cut emissions of greenhouse gases by 12.5% below 1990 levels by 2008–2012.
With this latter aim in mind, the Directive sets three progressive targets for Member States to reduce the amount of their municipal biodegradable waste
Biodegradable waste
Biodegradable waste is a type of waste, typically originating from plant or animal sources, which may be degraded by other living organisms. Waste that cannot be broken down by other living organisms are called non-biodegradable....
sent to landfill. Biodegradable waste was focused upon because it is the biodegradable element of waste which breaks down to produce methane. The targets are set for an important waste stream - biodegradable municipal waste. The Directive requires that the strategy for achieving the targets must also address the need to reduce all biodegradable waste going to landfill.
The Targets
The targets contained in Article 5 of the Directive requires that:- 1. Member States shall set up a national strategy for the implementation of the reduction of biodegradable waste going to landfills, not later than two years after the date laid down in Article 18(1) and notify the Commission of this strategy. This strategy should include measures to achieve the targets set out in paragraph 2 by means of in particular, recycling, composting, biogasBiogasBiogas typically refers to a gas produced by the biological breakdown of organic matter in the absence of oxygen. Organic waste such as dead plant and animal material, animal dung, and kitchen waste can be converted into a gaseous fuel called biogas...
production or materials/energy recoveryEnergy recoveryEnergy recovery includes any technique or method of minimizing the input of energy to an overall system by the exchange of energy from one sub-system of the overall system with another...
. - 2. This strategy shall ensure that: not later than 5 years after the date laid down in Article 18(1), biodegradable municipal waste going to landfills must be reduced to 75% of the total amount (by weight) of biodegradable municipal waste produced in 1995 or the latest year before 1995 for which standardised EUROSTATEurostatEurostat is a Directorate-General of the European Commission located in Luxembourg. Its main responsibilities are to provide the European Union with statistical information at European level and to promote the integration of statistical methods across the Member States of the European Union,...
data is available.
not later than 8 years after the date laid down in Article 18(1), biodegradable municipal waste going to landfills must be reduced to 50% of the total amount (by weight) of biodegradable municipal waste produced in 1995 or the latest year before 1995 for which standardised EUROSTAT data is available. not later than 15 years after the date laid down in Article 18(1), biodegradable municipal waste going to landfills must be reduced to 35% of the total amount (by weight) of biodegradable municipal waste produced in 1995 or the latest year before 1995 for which standardised EUROSTAT data is available.
Two years before the date referred to in paragraph (c) the Council shall re-examine the above target, on the basis of a report from the Commission on the practical experience gained by Member States in the pursuance of the targets laid down in paragraphs (a) and (b) accompanied, if appropriate, by a proposal with a view to confirming or amending this target in order to ensure a high level of environmental protection.
Member States which in 1995 or the latest year before 1995 for which standardised EUROSTAT data is available put more than 80% of their collected municipal waste to landfill may postpone the attainment of the targets set out in paragraphs (a), (b) or (c) by a period not exceeding four years...
Meeting the Targets
As stated previously, the UK currently disposes of the vast majority of its municipal waste (over 85%) by sending it to landfill, and meeting the targets presents a substantial challenge to this country. The targets in the EC Landfill Directive mean that the UK will have to take action on two levels.- i) Limit the use of landfill to ensure that no more than the allowed amount of biodegradable municipal waste is landfilled by the target dates.
- ii) Build up alternatives to landfill to deal with the diverted waste, encourage the diversion of waste away from landfill towards these alternatives, and encourage initiatives which minimise the amount of biodegradable municipal waste produced.
The first action is the subject of the consultation document Limiting Landfill: A Consultation paper on limiting landfill to meet the EC Landfill Directive's targets for the landfill of biodegradable municipal waste. The targets in the Directive are legally binding on the UK and must be met. The Government considers that the scale of the change needed to meet the targets, and the relatively short timetable for bringing about this change, mean that a statutory instrument to limit the use of landfill for biodegradable municipal waste is essential. DETR aims to include proposals for a statutory limit for landfill in the final waste strategy for England.
The second action is dealt with in the draft waste strategy for England and Wales, A way with waste. The draft strategy has a strong presumption against landfill, and sets out goals for the sustainable management of municipal waste: recycling and composting 30% of household waste by 2010, and recovering 45% of municipal waste by the same date. The draft strategy also states that, by 2015, the Government expects that we will need to recover value from two thirds of our household waste, and that at least half of that will need to be through recycling or composting. It also reiterates the Government's support for the principle of Best Practicable Environmental Option, and the waste hierarchy
Waste hierarchy
The waste hierarchy refers to the 3 Rs of reduce, reuse, recycle, or and [ which classify waste management strategies according to their desirability. The Rs are meant to be a hierarchy, in order of importance...
, within which recycling and composting should be considered before recovery of energy from waste.
The Landfill Directive was implemented on 16 July 2001 and aims to improve standards and reduce negative effects on the environment, groundwater
Groundwater
Groundwater is water located beneath the ground surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated deposit is called an aquifer when it can yield a usable quantity of water. The depth at which soil pore spaces or fractures and voids in rock...
, surface waters, soil
Soil
Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...
and air and overall limit the global impact of waste disposal. In England and Wales, the LFD has been implemented through Pollution Prevention and Control Regulations (PPC) to give a single regulatory regime. All existing and new landfill sites will be brought into this regime. Sites closed before 16 July 2001 remain within the original Waste Management Licensing (WML) regime. Existing landfills have a transitional period within which they must comply with the LFD, but are required to comply with certain aspects by key dates, and all aspects by 16 July 2007. All new sites must fully comply from the start.
The LFD requires that all sites are classified as formally classified as either accepting wastes that are hazardous, non-hazardous or inert
Inert
-Chemistry:In chemistry, the term inert is used to describe a substance that is not chemically reactive.The noble gases were previously known as inert gases because of their perceived lack of participation in any chemical reactions...
and that the engineered containment systems required for each classification of landfill are designed within a risk assessment
Risk assessment
Risk assessment is a step in a risk management procedure. Risk assessment is the determination of quantitative or qualitative value of risk related to a concrete situation and a recognized threat...
framework (groundwater, landfill gas
Landfill gas
Landfill gas is a complex mix of different gases created by the action of microorganisms within a landfill.-Production:Landfill gas production results from chemical reactions and microbes acting upon the waste as the putrescible materials begins to break down in the landfill...
and stability
Soil mechanics
Soil mechanics is a branch of engineering mechanics that describes the behavior of soils. It differs from fluid mechanics and solid mechanics in the sense that soils consist of a heterogeneous mixture of fluids and particles but soil may also contain organic solids, liquids, and gasses and other...
). The LFD aims to prevent co-disposal of hazardous wastes from July 2004 and ban certain wastes to landfill e.g. tyres, liquid wastes, explosive, highly flammable, corrosive
Corrosive
A corrosive substance is one that will destroy or irreversibly damage another surface or substance with which it comes into contact. The main hazards to people include damage to the eyes, the skin, and the tissue under the skin; inhalation or ingestion of a corrosive substance can damage the...
and oxidising wastes. Article 5 requires that the amount of biodegradable waste going to landfill is reduced.
From 2004, pre-treatment of waste (physical, thermal
Thermal
A thermal column is a column of rising air in the lower altitudes of the Earth's atmosphere. Thermals are created by the uneven heating of the Earth's surface from solar radiation, and are an example of convection. The sun warms the ground, which in turn warms the air directly above it...
, chemical or biological process
Biological process
A biological process is a process of a living organism. Biological processes are made up of any number of chemical reactions or other events that results in a transformation....
es, including sorting to change waste characteristics) will be required to substantially reduce waste volume or hazardous nature of the waste, or to facilitate handling or to enhance the recovery potential of the waste. The LFD further requires that landfill gas will be used to generate non-fossil fuel
Fossil fuel
Fossil fuels are fuels formed by natural processes such as anaerobic decomposition of buried dead organisms. The age of the organisms and their resulting fossil fuels is typically millions of years, and sometimes exceeds 650 million years...
derived energy wherever possible, that each site has a fully developed closure and aftercare plan and during the active phase and following closure, a monitoring regime to ensure groundwater quality is not compromised.
In addition to the above, landfill sites fall within the regulations drafted in response to the Groundwater Directive (agreed in 1979; published 1980 (80/68/EEC)) and which have been implemented through the Waste Management Licensing Regulations
Waste Management Licensing Regulations
The Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994 apply in Great Britain to those persons involved in the collection, storage, treatment and disposal of controlled wastes. These activities were previously covered by provisions contained within the Control of Pollution Act 1974...
1994 (Regulation 4) and the PPC Regime and Groundwater Regulations of 1998 (Hydrological Assessment Guidance 2003). This will be formally replaced by the Water Framework Directive
Water framework directive
The Water Framework Directive is a European Union directive which commits European Union member states to achieve good qualitative and quantitative status of all water bodies The Water Framework Directive (more formally the Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23...
in 2013 (or possibly earlier).
The objective of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) is to sustain surface water ecosystems and reverse recent trends in groundwater quality. In the context of landfill sites, groundwater protection measures require that there is no discharge of a prescribed range of substances (List I substances) to groundwater (saturated zone) and that formal compliance points below a landfill have been established.
List I substances
- Organohalogen compounds (and substances which may form such compounds in the aquatic environment)
- Organophosphorus compounds
- Organotin compounds
- Mercury and its compounds
- Cadmium and its compounds
- Cyanides
- Substances which are carcinogenic, mutagenic or teratogenic in or via the aquatic environment
- Mineral oils and hydrocarbons
List II substances
- The following metalloids and metals and their compounds: Zn, Cu, Ni, Cr, Pb, Se, As, Sb, Mo, Ti, Sn, Ba, Be, B, U, V, Co, Th, Te, Ag.
- Biocides and their derivatives not appearing in List I
- Substances which have a deleterious effect on the taste and/or odour of groundwater
- Toxic or persistent organic compounds of silicon.
- Inorganic compounds of phosphorus and elemental phosphorus
- Fluorides
- Ammonia and nitrites
The prevention of these listed substances being discharged to the ground will ensure zero pollution.
Direct discharges (no unsaturated zone) of List I substances must be prevented. Indirect discharges of List I substances (via the unsaturated zone) can only be authorized if prior investigation shows that that there will be no discharge to groundwater.
Details of the current waste regulations together with information regarding EU directives and duty of care responsibilities can be found on the DETR web site:
http://www.environment.detr.gov.uk/waste/index.htm
Details of the minimum monitoring procedures for landfills can be found at:
http://www.grc.cf.ac.uk/lrn/resources/landfill/schedule3.php
Notable landfills
- Avondale LandfillAvondale LandfillThe Avondale Landfill is a major Scottish landfill located in Polmont, off junction 4 of the M9 motorway. Avondale takes large volumes of waste from the Forth Valley and some from West Lothian. Avondale has the ability to accept Non-Hazardous, Stable Non-Reactive Hazardous waste including...
- Calvert, BuckinghamshireCalvert, BuckinghamshireCalvert is a village in Buckinghamshire, England, near the village of Steeple Claydon.Originally named after a wealthy local family, the village was founded as a hamlet in the Victorian era to house workers for the brick works that were constructed in the area. The works have since been closed and...
- Greengairs LandfillGreengairs LandfillThe Greengairs Landfill is the largest landfill site in Scotland and is also considered to be Western Europe's largest landfill site. Greengairs was opened in 1990 and handles in approximately 600-750,000 tonnes of waste per year, 55% of which is municipal waste...
- Mucking Marshes LandfillMucking Marshes LandfillMucking Marshes Landfill is a major landfill site servicing London, close to the hamlet of Mucking. Covering hundreds of acres of former gravel quarry, it is one of the largest landfills in Western Europe and has been filled for decades with municipal and commercial waste floated thirty miles down...
- SixfieldsSixfieldsSixfields in Northampton, Northamptonshire was a Landfill until a few years ago, when it was converted into a leisure area to accommodate the new Sixfields Stadium for Northampton Town Football Club....
- Nantmel Landfill SiteNantmel Landfill SiteNantmel Landfill Site is a closed waste-disposal site situated in the community of Nantmel, Llandrindod Wells, Powys, Wales. It operated from 1960 to 1990, accepting domestic, commercial, non-hazardous industrial, inert and asbestos waste. It was one of 80 municipal landfill sites in Powys, of...
See also
- Animal By-Products RegulationsAnimal By-Products RegulationsThe Animal By-Products Regulations allows for the treatment of some animal by-products in composting and biogas plants...
- Landfill Allowance Trading SchemeLandfill Allowance Trading SchemeThe Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme, LATS, is an initiative by the UK government, through DEFRA to help reduce the amount of biodegradable municipal waste sent to landfill.-How does it work?:...
- Landfill DirectiveLandfill DirectiveThe Landfill Directive, more formally Council Directive 1999/31/EC of 26 April 1999 on the landfill of waste, is a European Union directive issued by the European Union to be implemented by its member states....
- Landfill taxLandfill taxA landfill tax or levy is a form of tax that is applied in some countries to increase the cost of landfill. The tax is typically levied in units of currency per unit of weight or volume...
- Regiving