Economic Instruments - Charges and taxesLandfill Tax (Belgium)
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Flanders has a complicated system of landfill (and incineration) taxes where the rates depend on the type of waste and the type of landfill. Specific waste from mining and mineral industries are subject to relatively low rates (between 0,32 euros and 7.73 euros per tonne in 2005). Recycling and soil sanitation residues also have low rates. The rate for inert waste and for inert asbestos is 10.83 per tonne. For free asbestos and fly ash from thermal power plants the rate amounts to 18.54 per tonne. For municipal waste it is 58.73 if the landfill gas is used for energy production, and 61.82 euros otherwise. The rate for landfills operating without a license is 123.63 euros per tonne (source: OVAM, rates are for 2005). Since 2000, there is a ban on landfilling of untreated municipal waste (with some exceptions). In Flanders, since 2002, the amount of household waste has remained stable and not increased (a drop of 0.2% occurred in 2002, and a drop of 3.4% in 2003). In 2003, 70% of the household waste was collected separately and most of it was re-used, composted or recycled. The numerous and widely available collection facilities around Flanders has had a positive impact on the reduction of waste as well as the application in almost all Flemish municipalities of some kind of differentiation in waste collected charges. In 2003, only 16.3% of the remaining (non-separated) waste was landfilled (compared to 52.6% in 1991) (Bartelings et al., 2005). According to Sanders et al., 2004, the restrictions on landfilling and the tax (which makes landfilling more expensive than incineration) are responsible for this decrease.
References Bartelings H., P. van Buekering, O. Kuik, V. Linderhof, F. Oosterhuis, 2005, Effectiveness of landfill taxation, report prepared for the Dutch Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment, Institute for Environmental Studies, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam. Available at www.ivm.falw.vu.nl/research_output/index.cfm/home_subsection.cfm/ subsectionid/FF91BCBD-EAFE-426A-ABB8184073A39BBF Public Waste Agency of Flanders (OVAM), no date, website available at: www.ovam.be Sanders A., L. Putseys and E. Van der Putten, 2004, Beheer van afvalstoffen. Chapter 2.17. In Milieurapport Vlaaderen (MIRA). Available at: www.milieurapport.be.
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