Livni

On January 16, 2007, the Israel Knesset approved an amendment to the Maintenance of Cleanliness Law which will require a landfill operator to pay a levy for every ton of waste which is landfilled at the site. The rate of the levy is determined according to the type of waste and the type of landfill and will be implemented gradually over a period of five years (beginning with 10 shekels in the first year, 20 shekels in the second year and reaching 50 shekels in the fifth year for a ton of mixed waste, typical of municipal solid waste, in a mixed waste landfill).

The law will go into effect on July 1, 2007.

According to Environmental Protection Minister Gidon Ezra approval of the law constitutes an historic milestone in waste management in Israel, which was made possible by the joint and concentrated efforts of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Ministry of Finance.

Ilan Nissim, director of the Solid Waste Division in the Ministry of Environmental Protection, recalled that the economic studies which first identified the landfill levy as the right tool for reducing the quantities of waste reaching landfills and increasing waste recycling and recovery were carried out as far back as 1996. According to Nissim, the landfill levy is the most significant achievement in the field of solid waste treatment over the past ten years: "The new law is the product of the joint efforts by the Solid Waste, Economic and Legal Divisions of the Ministry of Environmental Protection. This, along with the fine preparatory work undertaken by the legal department of the Knesset Interior and Environment Committee, created the necessary platform for professional discussions and agreement. The law reflects the consensus of the Union of Local Authorities, all of Israel's government ministries and the private sector dealing with solid waste. Without doubt this achievement will advance Israel towards a new era of recycling and recovery."

Tal Shohat, in charge of landfills and transfer stations in the Ministry of Environmental Protection, emphasized that within a few years, all of today's approved and active landfills will reach capacity. Therefore, urgent steps must be taken to promote alternative and advanced treatment methods. Shohat added that the price of landfilling today is unrealistic and does not enable fair competition for advanced treatment methods, including reduction at source, reuse, recycling and waste to energy.

It is important to note that as long as the landfilling price does not reflect its true costs, advanced waste recovery facilities will not be able to enter the waste treatment market. The landfill levy plays a vital role in providing a solution to the current price distortion in Israel's waste market and will thus help prevent the impending crisis. The landfill levy is an accepted and successful method worldwide, whose rate reaches tens of euros per ton of waste in European states.

Environmental Protection Minister Gidon Ezra added that the funds which will be collected by means of the landfill levy will be deposited in a dedicated account of the Maintenance of Cleanliness Fund and will be returned to local authorities for the purpose of setting up recycling and recovery infrastructure.

Today, most of Israel's waste (some 80% out of 5 million tons of waste generated each year) is landfilled. Although landfilling is a waste treatment method which consumes the most land and is responsible for high costs to the state, its price in Israel has remained very low, both in terms of what is accepted worldwide and relative to other waste treatment methods. The low price to the user does not reflect the true costs of landfilling, including the cost of land, air pollution, pollution-related disease, risks to groundwater, etc. Approval of the landfill levy should go a long way toward encouraging the development of waste recovery facilities as alternatives to landfills.

Waste Treatment Prices in Israel (per ton):

Price of waste treatment (collection from homes and transport to transfer stations): up to 850 shekels/ton
Average price of landfilling : 40 shekels/ton
Average price of transport : 40 shekels/ton
Price of recycling : 90 - 120 shekels/ton
Price of Landfilling in Selected Areas Worldwide:

New York - $68
Pennsylvania - $51
Florida - $38
Kansas - $29
Minnesota - $44
Arizona - $25
California - $33
Washington - $41
Canada - $45 - 100
UK - ($18 - 44)
Germany - up to $270
Israel - $10
Landfill Levy in Israel (in 2011):

Mixed or Dry Waste - 50 shekels/ton
Dry Waste - 4 shekels/ton
Residuals after Sorting - 4 shekels/ton
Sludge - 120 shekels/ton
Stabilized Industrial Sludge - 40 shekels/ton
Construction and Demolition Waste - 4 shekels/ton

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