Landfill economics—a taxing matter? Available to Purchase

The pressures of recent UK and European legislation upon the waste hierarchy have to be balanced against the three coexisting elements of environment, economics and society in the quest for sustainable development. Disposal to landfill will surely become the ‘least preferred option for disposal’ due to both the implementations of national waste strategies and the reduction in availability of suitable landfill sites. This paper demonstrates, however, that the use of landfill taxes has not yet succeeded in redressing the balance of reversing the waste hierarchy, with three national examples indicating an increase in disposal to landfill despite considerable tax levies.