Landfill tax in Ireland to rise to Euro 50 a tonne

Landfill tax in Ireland will rise from Euro 30 to Euro 50 per tonne from September, increasing to Euro 65 per tonne from July 2012 and Euro 75 per tonne from July 2013.


The levy increases were announced by Minister for the Environment, Heritage & Local Government Phil Hogan today (14 April) at the Dáil, the Irish chamber of parliament.

“Right now, disposal, which is the most environmentally unsound option for dealing with our waste, is the cheapest. That situation is simply not sustainable,” he said.

“By announcing these rates today, I am providing the waste sector with the certainty that it needs to prepare for the changes that these increases will bring.”

Hogan was speaking at during a debate on the Environment Bill 2011, which will inform the development of the Irish government’s waste policy due to be finalised by the end of the year.

The Minister, who has recently recently signed regulations to complete Ireland’s transposition of the Waste Framework Directive, also announced several other key measures aimed at diverting waste from landfill.

These included a fact-finding mission into the benefits of introducing segregated household food waste collections. The Minister confirmed that an assessment on regulations to divert household food waste through the use of brown bins would be completed shortly.

He also announced that the Government was embarking on a similar assessment to study the impact of changing the current structure of the household waste collection market in Ireland.

On the controversial issue of introducing an incineration tax, the Minister would only confirm that that he would indicate his position on this when the Environment Bill reaches Committee Stage in the near future.

Finally, the Government intends to undertake a review of existing producer responsibility schemes with a particular focus on packaging.

Maxine Perella

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