The Liberal Democrats, if elected are planning to introduce an Incineration Tax on waste. Their manifesto confirmed ‘Five Green Laws’ that will include a Resource Efficiency and Zero Waste Act to build a reuse and recycling industry.

The proposed Zero Waste Act includes the following below:

Implementation of recommendations from planned ‘Stern Report’ on resource efficiency, which the Natural Capital Committee will conduct
Increased penalties for waste crimes, aiming to move from an average fine of £50,000 to £75,000 and to an average sentence of 12 to 18 months
A statutory recycling target of 70% for waste in England
Regulation to promote design that enhances repair-ability, reuse and recycling, requiring specified products to be sold with parts and labour guarantees for at least five years.

They want to initiate an increase in penalties for waste crimes from around £50,000 to £75,000 and sentences from 12 to 18 months if waste is not disposed of correctly. The Liberal Democrats also confirmed a commitment to a statutory 70% recycling target with the ambitious deadline of 2030 which was failed to be mentioned in the manifesto but the party want to reinstate the Landfill Tax escalator which has been discontinued in 2014. However the party want to lower the rate of the landfill tax and extend the escalator.

They also claim that they would consult on introducing a tax on energy from waste recovery. As stated in the manifesto: “Establish a coherent tax and regulatory framework for landfill, incineration and waste collection to drive continuous increases in reuse and recycling rates and ensure only non-recyclable waste is incinerated, including reinstating the Landfill Tax escalator and extending it to the lower rate and consulting on the introduction of an Incineration Tax.”