WRAP's annual Gate Fees Report presents a summary of gate fees charged for a range of alternative waste treatment, recovery and disposal options. The report summarises indicative gate fee information and analyses the factors likely to influence future gate fees. The information in the report allows local authorites to make better informed decisions regarding waste management options.
The 2012 Gate Fees Report highlights the growing number of cost-effective alternative waste management options to landfill, underlining the economic and environmental savings we can make if we do not bury our waste in the ground. MRF gate fees have continued to fall and are substantially lower than our previous surveys. Many local authorities report that they are either not paying gate fees, or are receiving payment for their recovered materials.
Key findings identified by the 2012 report are;
The median MRF gate fee is £9 per tonne, down from £15 per tonne in last year’s report.
The median gate fee for OAW (Open-Air Windrow composting) is little changed from last year. OAW gate fees have been more-or-less constant for several years.
IVC (in-vessel composting) gate fees vary substantially with a key factor being the composition of the material received by facilities. Food waste mixed with garden waste and card attracts higher gate fees (median gate fee of £55 per tonne), followed by food waste only (median gate fee of £49 per tonne) and mixed food & garden waste (median gate fee £44 per tonne). These are in line with last year’s report.
For anaerobic digestion (AD) the median gate fee is £41 per tonne (with a range from £35 to £60 per tonne). This compares with a median figure of £43 per tonne in 2011 (range £36 to £64 per tonne).
The median gate fee for the onward management of wood waste collected from Household Waste Recycling Centres is £26 per tonne. Variation in wood waste gate fees across the UK reflects regional differences in supply and demand.
The median gate fee for EfW (energy from waste - incineration with energy recovery) facilities is £65 per tonne (with a range from £32 to £101 per tonne).
Mechanical biological treatment (MBT) the wide range of facility types and treatment processes which are labelled as MBT suggests that the median gate fee should be interpreted cautiously.
The median landfill gate fee for non-hazardous material (inclusive of the standard rate of landfill tax) is £85 per tonne.
The Gate Fees report aims to raise price transparency and, through improving the flow of information, enhance the efficiency with which the waste management market operates. A lack of market information may reduce a local authority's ability to make informed decisions on waste management options in terms of both economic and environmental costs.
