Strategy & Legislation: Waste and Emissions Trading Act
The Waste and Emissions Trading Act was granted Royal Assent on 13 November
2003. A copy of the Act is available via
http://www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts2003/20030033.htm
The Explanatory Notes are also available via
http://www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/acts/en2003/2003en33.htm
Background
The Act is intended to help the UK meet its European obligations under the Landfill Directive and will give statutory footing to penalties in the world's first economy wide emissions trading scheme.
Information on the Emissions Trading Schemes can be found here.
Regulatory Impact Assessment
The partial Regulatory Impact Assessment for the Bill has been published as follows:
- Main document (Adobe Acrobat format, 80kb) (Version dated 14 July 2003)
- Annex 1 - Article 5 of EU Directive 1999/31/EC (Adobe Acrobat format, 10kb)
- Annex 2 - reply by the Federation of Small Businesses (January 2001) to the first consultation - Limiting Landfill - on the implementation of the Directive (Adobe Acrobat format, 270kb)
- Annex 3 - UK Emissions Trading Scheme Rules (Adobe Acrobat format, 35kb)
- Annex 4 - details of Direct Participants in the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (Adobe Acrobat format, 15kb)
Further information is available on our Help
page about downloading or reading Adobe Acrobat 
documents.
Detail
Part 1 of the Act provides for an allowance scheme which will help the UK to meet, in the most cost effective and efficient way, its obligations under Articles 5(1) and 5(2) of the Landfill Directive 1999/31/EC. It provides for the allocation of allowances, which may be tradable, to waste disposal authorities and contains two measures to promote joint working between authorities in two-tier areas; a requirement for some authorities in two-tier areas to have in place by April 2005 a joint strategy for the management of municipal waste and a power for waste disposal authorities to direct a collection authority to direct a collection authority to deliver waste in a separated form.
Part 2 places on a statutory footing penalties for direct participants in the UK Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme, who fail to comply with their emissions reduction targets and amends the Pollution Prevention and Control (PPC) Act to provide for the application of penalties within future emissions trading schemes.
Details of the Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme, which the WET Act provides the framework for, can be found at http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/waste/localauth//environment/waste/localauth/lats/index.htm.
Contacting Defra
Enquiries may be directed by e-mail to:
- landfill.policy@defra.gsi.gov.uk (for "Waste" aspects of the Bill)
- ets@defra.gsi.gov.uk (for "Emissions Trading" aspects of the Bill)
Page last modified:
1 April 2005
Page published: 5 February 2003