NORTHERN Ireland companies could face increases of up to 200 per cent in the cost of waste disposal once the new landfill tax comes into effect, according to a leading figure in the British waste disposal industry.

Mr David Boyd, government affairs manager, for UK Waste, was speaking at a recycling conference in Antrim organised by the National Recycling Forum, the Department of the" Environment and Antrim Borough Council. He said the tax, due to be introduced in October, will have a major impact on the way Northern Ireland firms manage their waste.

"Businesses and local authorities should wake up to this fact now," Mr Boyd said. "The only way to avoid substantial costs is to plan ahead. This means either less waste production, or a higher level of recycling."

Mr Boyd said his company, which runs six recycling plants around Britain, was looking at the possibility of a joint investment with a local council to set up a plant in Northern Ireland.

He warned that many companies would only feel the impact of the new tax when they received their bills. "Current landfill costs in Northern Ireland are around £4 or £5 a tonne," he said, "which is at the lower end of the spectrum for the UK."

But, under the new tax, waste defined by Customs and Excise as inactive will be taxed at £2 a tonne, while material such as builders rubble, demolition and construction waste could incur a tax of £7 a tonne. So, too, could domestic waste.

Mr Boyd said it was unlikely that landfill operators would want to bear the full costs of the new tax. The likelihood was that they would pass it on to the waste producers, who would face price increases for landfill disposal as a result.

"Both businesses and local authorities will have to recycle more waste if they are to meet government targets," he said. "I believe that the economics of waste disposal will be the driving force behind the policy. If people do not recycle their waste, it will simply cost them a lot more to get rid of it."