Glossary: Landfill Disposals Tax statistics

There are 3 rates of LDT:

• a lower rate for inert materials which meet the conditions set out in the Act (please see the guidance for more information on qualifying materials)
• a standard rate for all other material
• an unauthorised disposals rate for taxable disposals made at places other than authorised landfill sites

Tax rates that apply, by financial year

The Welsh Government has set rates that match those in the rest of the UK for the financial years 2018-19 to 2023-24.

A taxable disposal at an authorised landfill site will be charged at the standard rate. This is unless the material being disposed of:

• consists entirely of one or more qualifying materials
• or is a qualifying mixture of materials

In which case the lower rate will be charged.

A taxable disposal made at a place other than an authorised landfill site will be liable to be charged at the unauthorised disposals rate. This is regardless of:

• the nature of the material disposed of
• and whether it would otherwise be subject to the standard rate or lower rate if disposed of at an authorised landfill site

For more information, please see the LDT technical guidance.

From April 2021, we introduced a new tax return for landfill site operators to complete, designed in consultation with operators. For disposals at the lower rate of tax, we now collect data by List of Waste (LoW) code, and for fines material, by waste producer. There can be instances where fines material may be charged at standard rate. For information on which materials can qualify as fines, please see ‘Landfill Disposals Tax qualifying mixtures of materials: fines notice’.

The LoW Code, also known as the European Waste Catalogue (EWC) code, is from the standardised list of waste categories within the LoW regulations. A waste transfer note must always contain a written description of the waste as well as the LoW code.

In the published LDT statistics, we present a breakdown for the weight of lower rated waste into fines material and 3 categories of non-fines material grouped by LoW code.

The table below presents LoW codes under which we have typically received data on waste being disposed of since April 2021. Annually, we will update this table with any additional LoW codes submitted by operators under which they have typically disposed of lower rated waste.

Please note that the table of LoW codes below relates only to waste disposed at the lower rate of tax. It would be possible for operators to dispose of similarly classified waste at the standard rate of tax, although we do not collect the LoW code on standard rated waste to know this.

On their own, LoW codes are not sufficient to determine the LDT rate of a material. For each disposal, the landfill site operator has an obligation to obtain other evidence to demonstrate that the material meets the requirements in the legislation, as set out in WRA guidance LDTA/4030.

Each landfill site operator agrees a quarterly accounting period with us for making an LDT return. We must receive each return by the last working day of the month following the end of the accounting period.

Most landfill site operators work to standard calendar quarters:

• April to June
• July to September
• October to December
• January to March

Therefore, a single LDT return for that landfill site operator includes the data for any given quarter.

However, a small number of landfill site operators work to alternative three-month periods (for example May to July, or June to August). We would receive these returns by the last working day of the following month (end of August or end of September in these examples). The adjustments made to data supplied by these operators are set out in the Methods section of the statistical releases.

Certain disposals of material can be treated as exempt from LDT and therefore are not reported to us. We do not collect data on these exempt disposals. Currently, there are two exempt disposals:

Multiple disposals of material at the same site

This is where material has previously been included in a tax return and tax paid on its disposal at the same site. This ensures that multiple disposals of the same material at the same authorised site will only be chargeable to LDT once.

Pet cemeteries

This applies to authorised landfill sites that only accept the disposal of pet carcasses or ashes (and any box or urn in which they are contained). As these disposals are exempt, operators of such cemeteries do not need to register with us to account for LDT. The exemption does not cover other authorised landfill sites that accept both the remains of pets and other types of waste.

Landfill site operators can claim reliefs on certain taxable disposals at authorised sites. In these cases, we do not charge the tax provided the relief is claimed in a tax return. Reliefs are grouped into 4 general categories:

• material removed from bed of river, sea or other water by dredging
• material resulting from mining and quarrying
• refilling open-cast mines and quarries
• and site restoration

A landfill site operator may apply to us for approval to apply one or more water discounts. Each discount applies to the water present in material when calculating the weight of the material in a taxable disposal from a particular source. The water discount may only be applied in legitimate cases where the adding or use of water is necessary.

A landfill site operator may apply where the water is necessarily present in the material for the following purposes:

• it had to be added to enable the material to be transported for disposal
• it had to be added to extract a mineral
• it had to be added in the course of an industrial process
• it arose as a necessary consequence of an industrial process
• or the material is a residue from the treatment of effluent or sewage at a water treatment works

Landfill site operators claim the water discount in their tax return. This is by providing details of the tonnage of water to be discounted for each accounting period. It is not included in any weight reported as subject to the lower or standard rates.

From April 2021, we began collecting the List of Waste (LoW) code under which water discounts have been applied. To support users of our statistics, we are publishing below the list of LoW codes under which water discounts have typically been applied from April 2021 to date. Annually, we will review and update this list with any additional LoW codes typically used by operators for water discounts.

On their own, List of Waste (LoW) codes are not sufficient to determine whether a material is eligible for a water discount. For each material, the landfill site operator must make an application to the WRA, evidencing that the process from which the material has arisen meets the requirements in the legislation, as set out in WRA guidance LDTA/3030.

For more information on exemptions, reliefs and discounts please see the technical guidance on the WRA website and the legislation for Landfill Disposals Tax (Wales) Act 2017.

A disposal of material as waste may be liable to LDT regardless of where the disposal is made. Disposals made outside of an authorised landfill site can be liable to the unauthorised disposals rate (£147.90 per tonne for 2022-23). We apply this rate without distinction to all material disposed, regardless of whether the material is subject to standard rate or qualifies for the lower rate.

None of the exemptions or reliefs that apply to disposals at authorised landfill sites are available to unauthorised disposals.

More information on unauthorised disposals can be found on the WRA website.