UK landfill taxes are rising from April 2025. And that could slow building projects, according to construction businesses. The increase in taxes for material being sent to landfill was originally announced last spring by the then Chancellor Jeremy Hunt. 

From April 2025, the taxes increase by 21.6% per tonne, which will be a significant cost increase for waste producers. The hikes mean: 

• Standard rates increase from £103.70 to £126.15 per tonne. 

• Lower rates increase from £3.25 to £4.05 per tonne. 

While many businesses are working hard to reduce waste sent to landfill, it can be more challenging for construction companies. 

Simon Toseland, a director from Prop-Search, said in a newspaper report: “Materials such as clay and subsoils, otherwise known as inactive soils, will be the biggest problem. In the construction sector, the development of a site often requires the removal of inactive soils to allow for the new development. It is not always the case that a developer will find a use for this material within the confines of their site, meaning it must be removed.” 

At ATG Group, we have solutions to reduce the amount of soil sent to landfill. We will delve that into later.  

What is a landfill tax? 

The tax is an environmental charge that applies to the disposal of waste in landfills. It is determined by the weight of the waste material and is levied on the operator who manages the landfill site. They then pass these charges to their business customers. 

It is designed to encourage businesses to use alternatives to waste disposal. For most businesses, this isn’t a big issue as there are recycling options. But some waste is quite difficult to dispose of, such as contaminated material from previous industrial land, known as brownfield sites. 

Rates of landfill taxes 

There are two rates of landfill tax: Lower and Standard. These determine how much your business will be charged for sending waste material to landfill. 

• Lower rate: This applies to all non-hazardous materials which are not biodegradable and have low polluting potential, such as naturally occurring rocks and soil, glass and rubble from demolition.  

• Standard rate: The Standard tax rate applies to all other taxable materials, including commercial waste, non-inert waste and mixed waste. 

If you are unsure about the classification of your waste, check the government’s Guide to Landfill Tax. It includes all the details including descriptions of waste to help you classify the correct rate. 

How construction firms can reduce landfill taxes 

Diverting material from landfill is not only better for the environment, but it can also be better for your bank balance. As Simon Toseland says, rising landfill tax can seriously impact developments. That’s due to the increasing costs of disposing inactive or contaminated soils. 

By using our LockedIn® technology, we aim to reduce the environmental waste classification of the material. For example, reducing hazardous soil to non-hazardous or even to inert. 

That means the soil can be kept onsite and reused elsewhere in the development. This will not only reduce or eliminate the need to buy virgin material for your development, but it also reduces the cost of transportation. That in turn reduces your development’s CO2 footprint. 

If there isn’t an opportunity to reuse the soil once its contamination classification is reduced, the soil can then be taken to landfill. This is typically at the lower rate. In some cases, we may be able to remove the soil for use on other developments, providing it meets the criteria for re-use. Our aim is to keep valuable soil from being sent to landfill. 

With such a large difference in the cost of landfilling standard rate waste, our solution can still prove to be more cost effective for construction firms. 

What to do next 

If you would like to know more about our LockedIn® solution, contact one of our team today.