Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme

The Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme, LATS, is an initiative by the UK government, through DEFRA to help reduce the amount of biodegradable municipal waste (BMW) sent to landfill.
How does it work?
The Waste and Emissions Trading Act 2003 provides the legal framework for the scheme and for the allocation of tradable landfill allowances to each waste disposal authority in England. These allowances will convey the right for a waste disposal authority to landfill a certain amount of biodegradable municipal waste in a specified scheme year.
Each waste disposal authority is able to determine how to use its allocation of allowances in the most effective way. It will be able to trade allowances with other authorities, save them for future years (bank) or use some of its future allowances in advance (borrow). This will allow individual waste disposal authorities to use their allowances in accordance with their investment strategy.
Performance.
In its first year, 2005/6, the total tonnage of biodegradable waste that could be landfilled in England was 15,196,000. The calculated amount that was landfilled was 12,386,666 tonnes, 18.5% less BMW than they were allocated.
Although it was deemed "a major driver of rapid landfill diversion and recycling rates" by the European Union, after 2010 the landfill tax had a greater effect in waste disposal.
Definition Clarity.
London's Western Riverside Waste Authority has declared that LATS guidance is flawed. The initial definition of municipal waste counted it as any waste that originated from houses or households. The most recent LATS guidance indicates that municipal waste is any waste under the control of the waste disposal authority. The problem lies when the waste disposal authority collects a proportion of commercial and industrial waste, which in one piece of legislation is counted and in the other is exempt. This leads to the potential for fines for some authorities.