The Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme (LATS), one of the government‘‘s key measures to reduce the amount of biodegradable waste going to landfill, goes live from April 1. The scheme will see progressive reductions in the amount of biodegradable municipal waste - such as paper, food and garden waste - that disposal authorities can landfill.

The diversion of biodegradable municipal waste from landfill is a key objective under the Landfill Directive. By 2010, biodegradable waste going to landfill must be 75% of the amount disposed in 1995; by 2013 this is reduced to 50% and by 2020 to 35%. Current estimates suggest that around 68% of English municipal waste is biodegradable. In England this means reducing the amount of such waste landfilled to 11.2m tonnes in 2009/10 - a reduction of 9.7m tonnes from that landfilled in 2003/04.

Landfilling biodegradable waste can contribute to environmental problems, such as leachate production and the release of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, which can contribute to climate change.

Local authorities across England have been set limits on the amount of biodegradable municipal waste they can dispose of in landfill sites. These ‘‘landfill allowances‘‘ are tradable. Authorities can buy more allowances if they expect to landfill more than is permitted by the number of allowances they hold. Authorities with low landfill rates can sell their surplus allowances. Waste disposal authorities will also be able to save unused allowances (banking) or bring forward part of their future allocation (borrowing).

Any transfer of allowances, through trading or borrowing, will need to be registered on the LATS Register - an online system to record all allowances allocated to each waste disposal authority and to facilitate the banking, borrowing and trading of allowances. This system, which is only accessible by waste disposal authorities, has been launched today.

Through the flexibilities of trading, banking and borrowing, authorities can develop the most cost-effective strategy for meeting their waste targets, tailored to their specific circumstances.

Disposal authorities that exceed the limit set by the allowances they hold will be fined £150 for every tonne they are over the limit.

Environment Minister Elliot Morley welcomed the scheme and highlighted how it is set to help local authorities meet waste targets. He said: "The Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme is an innovative and flexible approach which moves Government away from the old tools of command and control by offering an alternative to the regulatory system of inflexible targets. The scheme will not only help to reduce waste the amount of waste going to landfill, but will encourage local authorities to promote waste minimisation and to use positive methods of waste management such as reuse, composting, recycling and energy recovery. The scheme is the first of its kind in the municipal waste sector, but trading schemes have already been used successfully across the world in other sectors, most notably to reduce emissions to the atmosphere."

Barbara Young, Chief Executive of the Environment Agency, is working closely with Defra. She said: The Environment Agency will be managing the trading register and checking how well local authorities are performing. We will also make sure we have clear, up-to-date information that local authorities can use to help them meet the tough targets as smoothly as possible."

NOTES

Article 5 of the EC Directive [1999/31/EC] on the landfill of waste requires the UK:

· by 2010 to reduce the amount of BMW going to landfill to 75% of that produced in 1995
· by 2013 to reduce the amount of BMW going to landfill to 50% of that produced in 1995
· by 2020 to reduce the amount of BMW going to landfill to 35% of that produced in 1995

The target years for the UK take advan