Price hike lurks in landfill

I’ve got to tell you something that seems to be landing with very little fanfare, but that could quietly blow a hole in budgets up and down the demolition and construction supply chain.

It currently costs £4.05 per tonne to dump inert waste – rock and concrete – at a UK landfill. In the grand scheme of things, it’s a small tariff compared to the £126 charged for the disposal of general waste. And besides, those in the field of demolition send materials to landfill only as a last resort. They would much prefer to recycle, reuse or – better still – resell those materials at a profit rather than shipping them out as a cost.

Now, though, there’s a very real possibility that the government could wipe away that lower rate entirely. The government is currently analysing the feedback from a formal consultation that proposes a tax escalator so that by 2030, that £4 goes the same route as standard waste: a full £126 per tonne.

I’ll save you doing the maths. That’s a 3,000 percent tax hike in effect.

This article continues on Demolition Insider. Please use the link below to access this article FOR FREE.