Resources: Legislation

The impact we have upon the environment is being addressed through a series of powerful new legislative measures devised to reduce the more damaging elements of the current consumerist society. The most serious and widely recognised impact is climate change. The demand for new raw materials and the subsequent disposal methods creates unnecessary carbon dioxide and more damaging methane through the landfilling of our waste. This environmental damage is replicated in business inefficiency and lost social capital.

• WRAP
• Waste Management licensing
• General legislation links from the Environment Agency
• Netregs.org
• Defra

• The EU Landfill Directive requires the UK to make very significant reductions in the amount of biodegradable waste sent to landfill. By 2010 this must be 75% of the 1995 level and by 2013 50% of the 1995 level. The Landfill Directive has been translated into UK law via the Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme targets for each local authority. By 2010 the region must reduce biodegradable waste being sent to landfill by 640,000 tonnes to remain LATS neutral. Y & H currently has around 150,000 tonnes of composting capacity. (Composters Survey 2003, & EA)
• Statutory recycling / composting targets have been set for local authorities. At a regional level local authorities must increase recycling rates to 21% in 2005 / 06 and 30% by 2010 / 11 from 11.4% in 2002 / 03.
• 'Producer Responsibility' initiatives are in place for packaging waste and are close to approval for waste electrical and electronic equipment, tyres, end-of-life vehicles and batteries. They remove the option for continued landfill of these problem waste streams and present businesses with increased disposal costs.
• Businesses who are subject to the Climate Change Levy have negotiated 'Climate Change Negotiated Agreements' with Defra to reduce the additional tax cost of their energy consumption to 20%. To retain this 80% rebate of this additional cost those businesses in the agreements are required to meet agreed energy efficiency targets. Use of recycled materials is one of the major opportunities for businesses to meet these targets.
• Since January 2005 businesses have been subject to the EU-Emissions Trading Scheme, a carbon cap and trading system for carbon credits. These agreements require companies to reduce carbon emissions to within set limits or purchase carbon credits from the market. Use of recycled materials is one of the major opportunities for businesses to meet these carbon reduction targets and avoid significant cost increases.
• Raw materials extraction is subject to the Aggregates Levy, an addition raw material cost for businesses. Using recycled materials means the Aggregates Levy is avoided.
• Landfill costs have traditionally been low within the UK, Defra have introduced the Landfill Tax escalator and stated that Landfill Tax will increase to around £35 per tonne in the medium term. This is potentially a significant increase in waste disposal costs for businesses and local authorities, these costs can be avoided by increasing recycling.
• The availability of landfill capacity within Yorkshire &Humberside is stated as just 7 years. Reduction in the volume of wastes going to landfill will extend the availability of the current landfill capacity. (EA SWMA 1998 / 99)

Restrictions on the landfilling of meat related waste and former foods under the Animal By-Products Regulations. Companies must segregate the remaining meat-related waste from their general waste stream as soon as possible and segregate former food stuffs of animal origin currently being landfilled by the 31st December 2005.