The yearly cost of land-filling waste will, from the start of April next year, until at least 2014 increase by an additional £8-per-tonne.

Landfill tax is currently set at £48-per-tonne, with former chancellor Alistair Darling not confirming what increases, if any, he had planned beyond this period.

Today’s announcement by the new chancellor, George Osborne, has therefore been welcomed by the majority of waste professionals as it sets increases for at least the next four years.

Veolia Environmental Services’ deputy chief executive Paul Levett said the announcement would allow the firm to plan for the future.

He said: “We welcome the greater certainty regarding the future level of landfill tax which allows us to make investment decisions for new waste infrastructure.”

That investment could be in Waste to Energy (WtE) according to Serge Younes of consultancy WSP Environment & Energy.

The sustainability services director said: “The WtE industry relies heavily on landfill taxation and increased landfill gate fees to improve the economics of installing city-scale WtE plants that provide power and heating to urban communities.

“We hope that a combination of increased taxation on landfill waste and the Green Investment Bank will further stimulate the market and push through some much- needed investment in the construction of additional WtE plants across the country.”

Luke Walsh

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