Landfill tax is the tax charged on every tonne of waste sent to a landfill site in the UK. The standard rate is £130.75 a tonne from 1 April 2026; inert waste such as soil and rubble pays a much lower rate. It is the reason diverting general waste to energy recovery costs less than landfilling it.
Defined in the Commercial Waste Glossary.
Related: How Is Waste Turned Into Energy?.
Other terms
- Fly-tipping
- Waste carrier licence
- SIC code
- Dry mixed recycling
- WEEE
- Anaerobic digestion
- Waste transfer note
- EWC codes
- Waste hierarchy
- Transfer station
- General waste
- Digital waste tracking
- Energy from waste
- Simpler Recycling
- POPs
- Commercial waste
- Wait and load
- Trade waste
- Hazardous waste consignment note
- Materials recovery facility
- Duty of care
- Residual waste
- List of Waste code
- Controlled waste
- Upper tier waste carrier
- Pre-paid sack
- Section 34
- Annual waste transfer note
- All terms