Landfill operators must take a certain number of samples per customer load, depending on the risk profile of that customer. So if the operator has never had a difficulty with a customer before, rightly they should use a light touch, but where there have been
problems before, that frequency should increase. There is a loss on ignition test to find out what volume of the sample is degradable and in its steady state there is a limit of 10%, but for a limited period of a year, to allow industry to make the transition, a slightly higher rate of 15% will be allowed.
The hon. Member for Wirral South (Alison McGovern) asked about conducting the tests. The key factor is laboratory capacity. The samples go off to accredited labs, and I have no reason to believe that there is a problem with capacity. It is a commercial line of business.
HMRC compliance in general is a wider issue. HMRC cannot be in every operator’s yard at every moment, but it treats all forms of tax evasion extremely seriously and has a statutory duty to ensure that the correct taxes are collected, as well as a direct incentive to do so.