50% rise in landfill levy to ‘encourage green alternatives’

ENVIRONMENT Minister John Gormley has increased the landfill charge to €30 – a 50% increase in just over a month and he intends increasing it further in the future.

Last December, the minister increased the landfill levy from €20 to €25 per tonne as part of a strategy to encourage other forms of disposal, such as recycling, mechanical and biological treatments.

“By increasing the levy to €30 per tonne I am beginning to address the race to the bottom in landfill gate fees which we have witnessed and which acts as a barrier to achieving the diversion targets,” Mr Gormley said yesterday.