In 2004 the DEFRA 'Waste Strategy for England 2007' was published. One of the main elements of this new strategy is to: "incentivise efforts to reduce, re-use, recycle waste and recover energy from waste" and "reform regulation to drive reduction of waste and diversion from landfill".

Legislation:The EU has introduced new directives to divert waste from landfill including tyres, batteries and hazardous waste thus reducing the need for landfill.

The Government has introduced the Landfill tax escalator, which by 2010 will be £48 per tonne making landfill more expensive than other waste disposal technologies, when gate fees are added. By 2015 this will probably be as high as £150 per tonne. This will and is encouraging waste disposal authorities to introduce new waste disposal technologies to reduce reliance on landfill and be more accountable to their taxpayers.

The EU Landfill Directive of 1999 clearly states:

"Landfill not only takes up more valuable land space, it also creates air, water and soil pollution, discharging CO2 and methane CH4 into the atmosphere and chemicals and pesticides into the earth and groundwater. This in turn is harmful to human health as well as plants and animals."

They recommend:

"Where possible, waste that cannot be recycled or reused should be safely incinerated with landfill used as a last resort."

The UK Government has set a target of halving construction waste, which accounts for one third of total annual UK waste by weight, by 2012 . The governments waste quango known as the Waste and Resources Action Plan (WRAP) has been consulting on its plans to launch this construction waste commitment in the autumn of 2008.

The ICE's New Civil Engineer magazine reported in their 24 April 2008 edition, that major contractors and industry bodies will soon commit themselves to cutting construction waste, in a move that will mirror undertakings from major shop chains like Tesco's, which has already pledged to cut excessive product packaging.

Economics:
Increases in landfill tax and costs have now (Summer 2009) raised the cost of landfill tax to 45/65 tonne + VAT, this is now becoming more expensive than recycling, so it would seem that UK landfill charges are now just reaching the tipping point. That all this was ultimately adding up to profitable cost competitive recycling is being confirmed by the leading waste recycling firms in the commercial and industrial waste sector. Finally, this year (with the extra cost of landfilling from 1st April ), the marketplace for commercial and business recycling rate which was previously lagged behind the municipal/household waste recycling rate is catching up. It will soon, as the cost benefit of recycling increases potentially even overtake the recycling rates achieved in municipal/household recycling.