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Waste Sent to Landfill: 2000-2004
Million tonnesR
| 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 |
|---|
Biodegradable Municipal Waste 1 | 1.90 | 1.88 | 1.89 | 1.79 | 1.72 |
Total waste to landfill 2 | 11.14 | 8.91 | 8.22 | 7.88 | 7.81 |
The disposal of waste to landfill can result in the loss of many tonnes of valuable materials, release pollutants into the soil and watercourses, and emit methane, a greenhouse gas.
The National Waste Strategy 3 places disposal to landfill at the bottom of its waste hierarchy. In Scotland, 7.8 million tonnes were landfilled in 2004 and Biodegradable Municipal Waste ( BMW) accounted for 1.7 million tonnes (22%) of this total. SEPA provisionally estimate that in 2005, 1.6 million tonnes of BMW was landfilled. 4BMW items such as paper and card, textiles, food and garden waste decompose and release the greenhouse gases methane and carbon dioxide.
The EU Landfill Directive (1999/31/ EC) requires a reduction in the amount of biodegradable municipal waste ( BMW) sent to landfill. The target for the amount of BMW sent to landfill is 1.32 million tonnes by 2010, falling to 880,000 tonnes by 2013, and 620,000 tonnes by 2020.
The Landfill tax was introduced in 1996 in order to discourage the disposal of waste to landfill. The tax rate was increased to £18 per tonne for biodegradable waste in 2005/2006, and will continue to rise by £3 each year until it reaches £35 per tonne.
SOURCE: SCOTTISH ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION AGENCY
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