Waste Disposal Authority

The Waste Disposal Authority (WDA) is responsible for the management of the disposal and treatment of Household Waste in its area. The disposal and treatment of the waste is usually via OutSourced arrangements, in some cases via PPP and PFI arrangements. In the case of HWRC sites, there has been a move by some WDAs towards InHouse arrangements in recent years.

There are three types of arrangements for the delivery of the Waste Disposal Authority responsibilities with the Waste Collection Authorities:

1. In a 'two-tier' Local Authority administration, the Waste Disposal Authority is the County Council and the Waste Collection Authority is the District Council. In this approach there may be up to five or six District Councils working with a single Waste Disposal Authority. In this situation the parties have to agree how material will be collected for the other party to treat and dispose of the waste, and financial recompense for more expensive collection approaches which benefit the Waste Disposal Authority. These are often acknowledged through the payment of Recycling Credits to the Waste Collection Authority.
2. In a 'single-tier' authority administration, such as a Metropolitan Borough or Unitary Authority, the Waste Disposal Authority and Waste Collection Authority are combined.
3. In some areas there are Formal Partnership arrangements between Local Authorities. These arrangements can vary in the level of integration, from a simple working agreement, through to a combined service delivery acting in the same way as a 'single-tier' authority.

Local Authorities have been broken down into regional groups to make it easier to find an individual authority.

• Scotland
• Wales
• Northern Ireland
• England
  • East Midlands
  • East of England
  • London
  • North East
  • North West
  • South East
  • South West
  • West Midlands
  • Yorkshire and Humberside

See also List of Waste Disposal Authorities