Landfill
The disposal of waste in engineered ground sites. Landfill is the least preferred option in the waste hierarchy and is subject to escalating landfill tax to discourage its use for recyclable materials.
Landfill is the disposal of waste by burying it in the ground at engineered, managed sites. In the waste hierarchy, landfill is the least preferred option and should be the last resort for packaging waste.
Key points about landfill and packaging:
- Landfill tax — a per-tonne tax that makes landfill increasingly expensive (currently over £100 per tonne for standard rate)
- Environmental impact — landfilled packaging may produce methane (from biodegradable materials) and risks leachate contamination
- Policy direction — UK policy aims to progressively reduce packaging going to landfill
- Bans — some nations are considering banning recyclable materials from landfill
Under pEPR, the financial incentives from modulated fees and improved collection funding should divert more packaging from landfill to recycling or energy recovery. Packaging that is non-recyclable and ends up in landfill represents the worst outcome under the system — attracting the highest fees for producers.
Related Terms
Modulated Fees
Fee adjustments applied on top of base fees that reward recyclable packaging wit...
Recyclability
The practical ability of a packaging item to be collected, sorted, and reprocess...
Waste Hierarchy
The legally established priority order for waste management: prevention, reuse, ...
Energy from Waste
The process of generating energy by incinerating waste that cannot be recycled. ...
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