Landfill tax increases set to cost Norfolk businesses an extra £7 million to dispose of their waste

Added: 24/04/2008
Category: Norfolk County Council

Norfolk businesses will face a heavy tax burden if they don't do more to reduce the amount of waste they send to landfill. Since April 2008 landfill tax has increased by 33% from £24 per tonne to £32 per tonne as part of the government's 'landfill tax escalator' to encourage businesses to reduce, reuse or recycle their rubbish rather than using landfills.

If business waste disposal rates in Norfolk continue at the current level, businesses in the county will be facing a collective tax bill of over £2 million* this financial year. This represents an increase of £480,000 paid to HM Treasury on the last financial year. This tax is charged on top of the normal disposal fee paid to the landfill operators by businesses that dispose of waste to landfill. In some circumstances, business could now pay as much as £100 per tonne for certain waste types.

Landfill tax will continue to escalate by £8 per year until 2010 when it hits £48 per tonne, by which time if businesses continue to use landfill in Norfolk at the current rate they will have paid an extra £7 million in environmental taxes on top of ever increasing waste disposal costs.

Councillor Ian Monson, Cabinet member for Environment & Waste, said: “For many companies the increase in costs could tip the balance between the choice of recycling or landfill disposal, making recycling the most cost effective option. The good news for Norfolk businesses is that in some cases recycling is cheaper by as much as half the price thanks to the wide selection of licensed waste recycling companies operating across the county”

Alder Tye, Environmental Business Advisor, Norfolk County Council, added: “The Landfill tax escalator is providing a hard-hitting incentive for businesses to rethink how they manage their waste and look toward the long-term financial, environmental and social benefits of diverting waste from landfill”

Norfolk County Council provides a dedicated team of experts who can help businesses to identify ways of reducing the tax burden of their waste disposal through a number of initiatives designed to aid Norfolk businesses. One such initiative is the award winning Eastex Materials Exchange (www.eastex.org.uk.norfolk) which uses the principle that one organisation's waste is another's raw material.

Free and confidential advice is also available on a number of other environmental issues including water and energy efficiency, pollution prevention and legal compliance. Their main aim is to target business waste reduction and resource efficiency to improve Norfolk's environment and economy for all Norfolk businesses regardless of the business size or turnover.

For more information please contact Alder Tye on 01603 223002, email environmental.advice@norfolk.gov.uk, or visit www.norfolk.gov.uk/environmentaladvice