Landfill

The Northern Ireland Landfill Allowance Scheme (NILAS)

Council Directive 1999/31/EC, on the Landfill of Waste (the Landfill Directive) became law on the 26th April 1999. The aim of the Landfill Directive is to reduce the pollution from landfilled waste that can impact on surface water, groundwater, soil, air and also climate change. The diversion of biodegradable municipal waste (BMW) from landfill is a key objective of the Landfill Directive. For Northern Ireland, as with the rest of the UK the targets are to reduce the amount of BMW sent to landfill to 75% of 1995 levels by 2010, to 50% of 1995 levels by 2013 and to 35% of 1995 levels by 2020.

The Landfill Directive was transposed, in part, by The Waste and Emissions Trading Act (the WET Act) 2003.

The WET Act established the Department of the Environment as the Allocating Authority for the landfill allowance scheme in Northern Ireland referred to as the Northern Ireland Landfill Allowances Scheme or NILAS.

As the Allocating Authority the Department has responsibility for:

•allocating allowances,

•the monitoring and reporting of these allowances,

•delegating powers and responsibilities in relation to waste disposal authorities and landfill operators, and

•developing a strategy for reducing the amount of waste that goes to landfill.

In 2006 the Department issued Allocating Authority Guidance for District Councils which outlined the function of the Allocating Authority and defined collected municipal waste and commercial waste. The Department issued revised Allocating Authority Guidance in 2009, which can be viewed here:

Northern Ireland Landfill Allowance Scheme - Allocating Authority Guidance for District Councils - February 2009 (188KB)

All district councils in Northern Ireland have been allocated allowances which have been set to ensure that the total amount of BMW in Northern Ireland does not exceed the EU targets in the target years. Each allowance permits one tonne of biodegradable municipal waste to be landfilled. As the Scheme progresses the allowances allocated to each council will diminish to facilitate compliance with the targets.

http://www.ni-environment.gov.uk/other-index/content-databases/content-databases-landfillallowances.htm

The Landfill Allowances Scheme (NI) Regulations 2004

The NILAS Regulations were made in September 2004 and came into operation on 1 April 2005. The Scheme was introduced to provide a cost effective way of enabling Northern Ireland to meet its share of the UK targets, as outlined in the WET Act, for reducing the landfilling of biodegradable municipal waste to achieve compliance with the Landfill Directive.

The Landfill Allowances Scheme (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2004 (48KB)

The Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) monitors the Scheme. Each year the NIEA publishes the NILAS Annual Report which among other things details each district council’s performance with regard to their landfill allocation. The 2007/08 Annual Report can be viewed here:

Landfill Allowances Scheme Annual Report 2007/2008 (428KB)

The Landfill Allowances Scheme (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005, No. 588

These regulations amended the NILAS 2004 Regulations by reducing the level of penalty to which a district council is liable from £200 to £150 for each tonne over a council’s allocated allowance.

The Landfill Allowances Scheme (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005 (40KB)

The Landfill Allowances Scheme (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009, No.46

These regulations which came into operation on 1 April 2009, amend the NILAS 2004 Regulations by reducing from 71% to 64% by weight (rounded up to the nearest tonne), the assumed amount of biodegradable municipal waste in an amount of collected municipal waste.

The original 71% figure was based on a waste compositional study undertaken in 2000. More recently, waste compositional studies carried out in GB and in NI provided compelling evidence that this figure might not accurately reflect present day circumstances. On the basis of this evidence and taking into account the development of waste collection and disposal practices in the intervening years, the Department took the view that there was sufficient justification to review the current figure.

Following the completion of a waste compositional study in February 2008 it was concluded that the current biodegradable municipal waste percentage of collected municipal waste in Northern Ireland was 64%.  

•The full NI Waste Compositional study report can be viewed here:

www.ni_environment.gov.uk/waste_compositional_study_2007-08_full_report.pdf (1.8MB)

•An executive summary of the NI Waste Compositional study report can be viewed here:

www.ni_environment.gov.uk/waste_compositional_study_2007-08_executive_summary.pdf (51KB)

•The Landfill Allowances Scheme (Amendment) Regulations (NI) 2009 can be viewed here:

http://www.opsi.gov.uk/sr/sr2009/pdf/nisr_20090046_en_pdf (40KB)

The NILAS Review

Under the NILAS 2004 Regulations the Department is committed to reviewing NILAS by the end of year three of the Scheme. The NILAS review process was begun in January 2008 and the NILAS Review Report was issued in May 2008.

NILAS Review Report  (32KB)