By Eric Randall, Director of Bryson Recycling

With the UK deep in recession and the government under pressure to streamline spending, this year’s Budget was certain to come under intense scrutiny. Billed as a ‘green’ Budget, businesses operating within the environmental sector were keen to discover how it would impact both the industry and the UK’s commitment to sustainability while managing to raise the extra revenue needed to bolster the economy.

Of course it is difficult to separate the facts from the spin in the immediate aftermath of the Chancellor’s announcement, but now that the dust has settled we can begin to build a clearer picture of the effect the Budget is likely to have on environmental industries and what this will mean for the wider public.

For recycling, the most significant announcement was the 25% increase in landfill tax, the charge paid by local councils to dispose of waste by sending it to landfill, which is currently £40 per tonne and set to rise by £8 per year until 2013.  It is designed to encourage us to manage waste more sustainably – in other words to send less rubbish to landfill and to recycle more.

Landfill Tax was introduced by the UK government in 1996 to help reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill, to promote re-use and recycling and to support research into more sustainable means of managing waste. The tax is applicable to all waste disposed of at licensed landfill sites except where it is specifically exempt.

So what does this mean for the average household?

In Northern Ireland the cost of disposing of household waste on landfill sites is passed on by local councils to residents through rates. Landfill tax forms a significant part of this cost, so with a rise comes the potential for this to be reflected in increased rates. At a time of economic difficulty for many households and businesses here, any rise in rates would inevitably be unwelcome and for some, simply unaffordable. 

However becoming vulnerable to higher rates may be avoidable. Reducing the amount of rubbish we throw away and recycling as much as possible will minimise landfill tax costs paid out by councils. Sorting recyclable materials from other household waste doesn’t take a lot of effort, but can have a real impact on the amount spent on sending rubbish to landfill. Over the last year 580,000 tonnes of household waste was disposed of through landfill in Northern Ireland, costing councils here £35 million (made up of landfill tax plus average landfill gate fee of £28 per tonne). If the same amount is sent to landfill sites over the next 12 months an increase of £4.6m will be incurred as a result of the tax increase, causing the overall cost to rise to nearly £40m. By 2013 this would mean paying out an extra £23m in landfill tax costs alone.

It is clear that by each doing our bit to throw away less and recycle more we can help offset the landfill tax increase that will be owed by our councils. However, as the Chancellor indicated, this is not just about collecting cash to save the economy, but also about encouraging people to look after the environment and sustaining local industry. Most of us are now aware that recycling is good for the environment, reducing demand on our limited supply of natural resources, but here in Northern Ireland it also provides a tremendous boost to our economy. Bryson Recycling, for example, employs over 200 staff, so the more we recycle the more support we are providing for local jobs and industry at a crucial time for our economy.

However in Northern Ireland we have a strong record in recycling. The amount we recycle at Bryson has doubled in recent years, and household recycling rates are now at almost a third. This growth has enabled Bryson to reinvest heavily in local social and environmental enterprises, using cash generated from the sale of recycled materials at around £60 per tonne. As an industry we are optimistic that coupled with the efforts of people to recycle all they can, the government’s landfill tax increase will go some way to ensuring that we continue our commitment to protecting the environment, while doing as much as possible to prevent homeowners here becoming vulnerable to even higher rates.