(1)In this Chapter “biodegradable waste” means any waste that is capable of undergoing anaerobic or aerobic decomposition, such as—
food and garden waste, and
paper and paperboard.
(2)In this Chapter “biodegradable municipal waste” means waste that is both biodegradable waste and municipal waste.
(3)In subsection (2) “municipal waste” means—
(a)waste from households, and
(b)other waste that, because of its nature or composition, is similar to waste from households.
(1)In this Chapter “landfill” means a site for the deposit of waste onto or into land where the site is—
(a)a waste disposal site, or
(b)used for the storage of waste.
(2)In determining whether a site is a landfill for the purposes of this Chapter, the following activities at the site are to be ignored—
(a)the temporary storage of waste if the site is used for such storage for less than one year;
(b)the unloading of waste in order to permit the waste to be prepared for further transport for recovery, treatment or disposal elsewhere;
(c)the storage of waste, prior to recovery or treatment, for a period of less than three years as a general rule;
(d)the storage of waste, prior to disposal, for a period of less than one year.
(3)The fact that a site for the deposit of waste is at the place of production of the waste does not prevent the site from being a landfill for the purposes of this Chapter.
(4)In subsection (2) “treatment” means the physical, thermal, chemical or biological processes, including sorting, that change the characteristics of waste in order to—
(a)reduce its volume,
(b)reduce its hazardous nature,
(c)facilitate its handling, or
(d)enhance its recoverability.
(1)In this Chapter—
“scheme year” means a year beginning with 17th July in any of 2004 to 2019;
“target year” means a scheme year ending with 16th July in 2010, 2013 or 2020.
(2)The Secretary of State may by regulations amend subsection (1) for the purpose of—
(a)providing for a different day to be the first day of a scheme year;
(b)adding or omitting one or more scheme years;
(c)providing for a scheme year to be a period shorter or longer than a year;
(d)changing the target years or any of them;
(e)adding or omitting one or more target years.
(3)Before making regulations under subsection (2), the Secretary of State shall consult the Scottish Ministers, the National Assembly for Wales and the Department of the Environment.
(1)For the purposes of this Chapter, the “allocating authority”—
(a)for England is the Secretary of State,
(b)for Scotland is the Scottish Ministers,
(c)for Wales is the National Assembly for Wales, and
(d)for Northern Ireland is the Department of the Environment.
(2)In this Chapter, any reference to an allocating authority’s “area” is to the area for which it is the allocating authority for the purposes of this Chapter.
(3)In this Chapter “landfill allowances” means allowances allocated under section 4(1).
(4)References in this Chapter to the monitoring authority for an area are to the monitoring authority designated for the area by regulations under section 10(1).
(5)In this Chapter “waste disposal authority”—
(a)in relation to England, Wales and Scotland has the same meaning as in Part 2 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (c. 43);
(b)in relation to Northern Ireland means a district council.