Local Authority Collected Waste (LACW)
What is Local Authority Collected Waste?
Local Authority Collected waste is all waste collected by or on
behalf of a local authority. This includes household waste and all
other waste coming under control of a local authority.
What is Local Authority Collected Municipal Waste (LACMW)?
Local Authority Collected Municipal Waste refers to the previous
'municipal' element of the waste collected by local authorities and
means household waste and similar business waste collected by or on
behalf of local authorities. It is a slightly narrower category
than LACW and includes all waste types included under European
Waste Catalogue Code 20 and some waste under Codes 15 and 19. This
is the definition which will be used for the Landfill Allowance
Scheme Biodegradable Municipal Waste to landfill allocations.
What is Household Waste?
Household waste is waste generated by households (and not as
defined by the Controlled Waste Regulations 1992 which are
concerned with charging for collection). Waste from households
includes household collection rounds, other household collections
such as bulky waste collections, waste deposited by householders at
Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) and recycling points/
bring banks. The new definition therefore excludes non-domestic
properties such as hospitals and nursing homes, residential
hostels, residential homes, schools, universities and other
educational facilities, caravan sites and campsites, self catering
holiday accommodation, prisons and penal institutions, public
halls, royal palaces and premises occupied by charities and used
for charitable purposes.
How are the data collected?
Local authorities report LACW data on a quarterly or monthly
basis using WasteDataFlow - an online reporting system used by all
UK local authorities. Authorised data held in WasteDataFlow
can also be viewed by registered users, including the Scottish
Government, Defra, Audit Scotland, members of the public and local
authorities themselves.
What are the data used for?
SEPA uses LACW data for a wide range of purposes including:
- monitoring the Landfill Allowance Scheme (LACMW only);
- determining local authority recycling and composting rates and
whether national targets are met (household waste only);
- producing local authority waste management reports;
- providing data for the annual Waste Data Digest;
- providing data for other national and European reporting
obligations.
Further information on LACW reporting is available here: