Call for Evidence: Near elimination of biodegradable waste disposal in landfill from 2028

Climate change is one of the greatest global challenges and action is urgently needed. In 2019 we became the first major economy to set a legally binding target to achieve net zero by 2050. In 2021 the UK government published its Net Zero Strategy: Build Back Greener , becoming the first major economy to set a legally binding target to achieve net zero by 2050. The environmental impacts of biodegradable waste entering landfill are well known. In the absence of oxygen (below the surface), anaerobic degradation of biodegradable waste deposited in landfill produces landfill gas that is predominantly methane and carbon dioxide. In 2021, landfill gas from closed and operational landfills was estimated to emit 13.6 Mt CO 2 e, which is ~ 72% of the total emissions from the Waste Sector . In light of this and the need to deliver Net Zero, government is committed to achieving the near elimination of biodegradable municipal waste to landfill from 2028 and its