Biodegradable Municipal Waste
Overview
The biodegradable fraction of Municipal Solid Waste (generally around 50% by weight of MSW) is important as the UK has legally binding EU targets to deliver set reductions of BMW waste to landfill, which were originally addressed through individual targets on local authorities. These have now been lifted in England – placing a reliance primarily on the Landfill Tax and treatment systems under PFI funded schemes to deliver the objectives.
Targets
The targets outlined below (and which the UK is expected to meet), come from European Directive 1999/31/EC on the landfill of waste.
The amount of BMW to landfill as a target is measured against the 1995 baseline requiring:
- No greater than 75% of the 1995 baseline by 2010
- No greater than 50% of the 1995 baseline by 2013
- No greater than 35% of the 1995 baseline by 2020
and has progressively reduced year on year with 7.4 million tonnes sent to Landfill in 2017, representing 21% of the 1995 baseline value [1]
The revised target published as part of the Circular Economy Package and transposed into European Directive 2018/850 amending Directive 1999/31/EC on the landfill of waste states that by 2035 the amoount of municipal waste landfilled is 10% or less of the total amount of municipal waste generated (by weight).
