Landfill

The Landfill category groups facilities that permanently dispose of waste onto and into land into three main types inert, non-hazardous (with and without SNRHW cells) and hazardous landfill sites – with the site selection, engineering, operation, restoration and long term aftercare reflecting the nature of the waste being landfilled.

Landfill remains a critical part of the UK waste system, particularly for certain residual and Construction & Demolition waste streams, even as policy, economics and infrastructure development continue to drive diversion towards recycling and recovery options. Each landfill site, however, has a finite capacity (or ‘void’) that, when filled, leads to the ultimate closure of the site.

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Types within Landfill

Landfill is divided into three types that reflect the definitions under the legislation and the permitting approach taken by the regulators in the UK [1] which primarily reflects the waste types received and their potential to pollute the environment (the waste must meet the relevant Waste Acceptance Criteria – or WAC - for the type of site and each site has specific selection, engineering, operation, restoration and long term aftercare requirements).These can be viewed individually or as part of an overall Landfill picture.

Hazardous landfill

Landfills permitted to accept hazardous wastes under specific conditions, and not permitted to accept non-hazardous waste.There are relatively few of these sites in the UK and therefore they typically serve wider catchments.

Non-hazardous landfill

Landfills permitted to accept non-hazardous wastes, including municipal and commercial residuals, and meets the relevant WAC. Some of these sites are able to receive with some cells potentially designated for Stabilised Non-reactive Hazardous Waste (SNRHW) in a separate cell if certain criteria are met.

Inert landfill

Landfills permitted to accept inert wastes including example soils, subsoils and certain construction & demolition waste that meet the relevant WAC.

These types of sites presently exclude those sites that are managed as sites exempt from permitting. These might include small engineering projects (such as bunds, engineering-related landscape projects, and engineering platforms) that may use exemptions from permitting or CL:AIRE schemes that have an agreed code of practice. This is different to some inert landfills which are exempt from the payment of Landfill Tax due to planning obligations requiring their restoration.

SED QUIS SAGITTIS 22/23 23/24 24/25
SED SED PLACERAT EST
Quisque elementum velit 84 82 79
Eros pellentesque ornare 237 241 241
Phasellus eget mauris 87.40 91.20 93.10
Vestibulum aliquet ante in nisi 112 118 121
SED RHONCUS SEM
Vestibulum vel finibus dui 3 3 4
Morbi finibus turpis ut EfW EfW EfW
Vestibulum vel finibus dui Low Low Medium
Morbi finibus turpis ut 84 82 79
PRAESENT IN ULLAMCORPER ENIM
Efficitur nulla eget 42.1 43.8 44.2
Ante in nisi consequat ultricies 459 451 444
Ed erat augue, elementum nec Top 20% Top 22% Top 19%
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Purpose

Use this page to understand the main landfill types, the capacity, remaining void and regional supply. See how they connect to Local and Waste Types, and navigate to facility level views where more data is available.

Approach

The Landfill category focuses on facilities that accept waste for final disposal, under environmental permits that define which materials are allowed, how they are engineered and how emissions are managed. It covers inert, non-hazardous and hazardous landfill sites, including those with cells for stable non-reactive hazardous waste (SNRHW).

Within WikiWaste, this category aims to:

  • Group landfill facilities into clear types based on waste type and permit scope.
  • Link landfill routes to Local Authority and commercial arrangements that still rely on landfill for part of their residual or C&D waste.
  • Connect landfill back to the Waste Types section, particularly residual, construction & demolition and hazardous waste streams.
  • Highlight capacity and remaining void where available, noting when figures were last updated and at what spatial resolution.

Facility pages will indicate the scope of data available for each site, including whether inputs, remaining void, closure status and aftercare details are present together with the year when these data were last updated.

References:

  1. Environmental Permitting Guidance – The Landfill Directive (Version 3.1 March 2010); updated by Guidance LFD 1 – Understanding the Landfill Directive (March 2011); which was then withdrawn in October 2022 and replaced with Guidance on Environmental Permitting (on gov.uk)
  2. GOIC Website
  3. Financial Costs and Climate Change Impacts of Current and Future Landfill Operations (Report August 2022)
  4. ESA Paper March 2026 - Need for flexibility over landfill end dates