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Concept

Landfill tax

Summary
A landfill tax or levy is a form of tax that is applied in some countries to increase the cost of landfill. The tax is typically levied in units of currency per unit of weight or volume (£/t, €/t, /yard3).Thetaxisinadditiontotheoverallcostoflandfillandformsaproportionofthegatefee.Ataxorfeemaybeimposedonlandfillsorotherdisposalfacilitiesasameansofraisinggeneralrevenues,togeneratefundsforinspectionprogramsorlong−termmitigationofenvironmentalimpactsrelatedtodisposal,orasameansofinhibitingdisposalbyraisingthecostincomparisontopreferablealternatives,inthesamemannerasanexciseor"sintax".Landfillingisdiscouragedduetoanumberofkeyreasons:ClimatechangecausedbylandfillgasfrombiodegradablewasteLossofresourcesConstraintsonareassuitableforlandfillsitesLossofrecyclablecomponentsofwastelandfilledNimbyobjectionscausingpoliticalproblemsInAustralia,thelandfilllevyrateisdeterminedbystateandterritorygovernments,anddependingonthefactorsinvolvedintheformulation,itdiffersfromonestatetoanother.Thefirst−everimplementedAustralianlevyschemewasenforcedinNewSouthWales(NSW)metropolitanareain1971,whichwasratedat/yard3). The tax is in addition to the overall cost of landfill and forms a proportion of the gate fee. A tax or fee may be imposed on landfills or other disposal facilities as a means of raising general revenues, to generate funds for inspection programs or long-term mitigation of environmental impacts related to disposal, or as a means of inhibiting disposal by raising the cost in comparison to preferable alternatives, in the same manner as an excise or "sin tax". Landfilling is discouraged due to a number of key reasons: Climate change caused by landfill gas from biodegradable waste Loss of resources Constraints on areas suitable for landfill sites Loss of recyclable components of waste landfilled Nimby objections causing political problems In Australia, the landfill levy rate is determined by state and territory governments, and depending on the factors involved in the formulation, it differs from one state to another. The first-ever implemented Australian levy scheme was enforced in New South Wales (NSW) metropolitan area in 1971, which was rated at 0.51 per tonne. A scheme that was subsequently followed by some other Australian states and territories. Except for Northern Territory (NT) and Tasmania (Tas), all of Australia’s other jurisdictions (Australian Capital Territory (ACT), NSW, Victoria (Vic), Queensland (Qld), South Australia (SA), Western Australia (WA)) have introduced landfill levies. The sources of disparity in landfill levy imposition are the location of waste disposal being metropolitan or regional, being obligatory versus voluntary, providing a tax exemption for certain materials and having levy zones. At the time of writing (2020), ACT has set the largest levy rates (metropolitan: 146.2,regional:146.2, regional: 199.2) for construction and demolition (C&D) waste among Australian jurisdictions, followed by NSW (metropolitan: $141.
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