WRAP has published the latest gate fees report, which compares the costs of alternative waste treatment options.
Now in its eleventh year, the survey covers gate fees charged to local authorities in the UK for a range of municipal waste recycling, recovery, treatment, and disposal options for the calendar year 2017.
Some commercial gate fees are also reported, which have been provided by organic and wood waste treatment facilities.
New this year is an interactive infographic enabling users to quickly find the gates fee and recent trends for the specific end treatments they are interested in.
Gate Fees Key Findings:
MRF:
- The median gate fee paid by local authorities for MRF services increased from £15 per tonne in last year’s report to £22 per tonne for the calendar year of 2017. Although most gate fees reported ranged from £0 to £5 (i.e. the mode), the actual range of gate fees at MRFs is much wider than other technologies. Some local authorities report receiving as much as £37 per tonne in income for their materials, whilst others report paying up to £95 per tonne to their MRF.
- This year, 16% (14) of local authority respondents report not paying a gate fee for MRF services i.e. a zero or negative gate fee, in comparison to 21% (20) last year and 28% (30) in 2015. For contracts signed in 2017, the median gate fee is £35/tonne, compared to £29/tonne last year.
- It is expected that MRF gate fees will continue to fluctuate year-on-year, dictated by changes in commodity prices.
IVC and AD:
- The median IVC gate fee for all types of municipal feedstock (i.e. mixed organics, or green or food waste presented separately) being sent to IVC facilities is £46/tonne, which is a £3 increase in the gate fee reported last year.
- The downward trend of the last few years in AD gate fees appears to be continuing. The median AD gate fee reported by local authorities for 2017 is £26/tonne, which is slightly lower than the £29/tonne gate fee from last year’s survey.
- Waste contractors said that England is undergoing a period of consolidation which may risk reducing capacity and result in stabilised gate fees.
- In many parts of the UK, historic prices paid by local authorities do not reflect the fall in current commercial pricing. Commercial contract and spot median gate fees reported by the operators stand at £11 and £15/tonne respectively.
EfW and wood waste:
- This year, reported median gate fee for incineration with energy recovery (EfW) is £86/tonne compared to £83/tonne last year.
- The survey did not cover wood waste this year as gate fees have been largely stable over the last years.
Landfill – non-hazardous:
- After last year’s increase (from £19 to £22/tonne), overall UK gate fees have actually seen a slight decrease to £20/tonne (exclusive of landfill tax).
- However, variability across the UK is increasing with a range of £2 to £82/tonne. Landfill gate fees vary regionally, depending upon the availability of capacity locally and of alternative options such as EfW or ports for RDF export.
- Local authorities and waste contractors expect to see increases in landfill gate fees in future years as available landfill capacity reduces.