Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme (LATS) returns

Landfill operators will not be required to submit an annual (LOPERS) return for the LATS Scheme year 2010/2011.

Landfill operators are currently required to make an annual waste return covering municipal waste accepted at their facilities. This is in addition to the quarterly permit returns landfill operators complete as part of their licence conditions.

The information provided is an important part of the data which helps local and central government, and the public, to understand how waste is managed in this country. We recognise however that the submission of annual returns, in addition to the quarterly returns providing very similar information, is an extra burden on landfill operators.

In consultation with our colleagues in Defra, we have decided to remove the requirement to submit annual (LOPERS) returns for the year 2010/11.    

Provided quarterly permit returns are completed appropriately using correct waste codes, we will use the quarterly returns to establish the amount of municipal waste disposed of at landfill, and compile the information required to monitor existing policies in England and to submit relevant data to the European Commission. Should this prove to be insufficient we may require the annual (LOPERS) return to be re-instated at a later date.