Landfill tax will remain a cornerstone of waste management policy. The standard rate of landfill tax will continue to increase by £8 per tonne on 1 April each year from 2011 to 2013. The lower rate applying to inactive wastes will be frozen at £2.50 per tonne for 2010-11.

The Government plans to commit more than £2 billion of Private Finance Initiative credits to allow investment in waste handling projects.

In addition, £10 million of new grants will be available in 2009-10 to deliver anaerobic digestion and in-vessel composting infrastructure. This will provide capacity to remove 316,000 tonnes of waste each year from landfill.

The Government is legislating in the Finance Bill 2009 to protect revenue following the Waste Recycling Group judgment last summer. This legislation, from 1 September 2009, will ensure that certain specified uses of material on a landfill site will be subject to tax and will remove redundant provisions. The Government is also launching a consultation on reforms to modernise landfill tax legislation in the longer term.

The aggregates levy was established to make the price of aggregates better reflect the environmental costs of quarrying, encouraging the use of recycled aggregates and alternative materials. The levy has been a significant factor in reducing sales of virgin aggregates in England by around 18 million tonnes between 2001 and 2005, with an estimated increase in the use of recycled aggregate of nearly 6 million tonnes. The aggregates levy will be frozen at £2.00 per tonne in 2010-11.

Plans have also been announced to make some £600 million available to re-start stalled housing projects. This includes money for social housing projects.