The cost of recycling for businesses should have fallen last year as gate fees at recycling depots dropped to just £9 per tonne, according to new figures from the Government’s waste body.

The median gate fee at Material Recycling Facilities (MRFs) is now £9 per tonne, down from £15 per tonne the year before, according to Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP UK).

WRAP’s Gate Fees Report 2012 includes a summary of charges for a range of alternative waste treatment, recovery and disposal options.

Steve Creed, Director of Market Economics at WRAP said: “This year’s Gate Fees Report highlights the growing number of cost-effective alternative waste management opinions to landfill, underlining the economic and environmental savings we can make if we do not bury our waste in the ground.

“MRF gate fees have continued to fall and are substantially lower than reported in our previous surveys. Many local authorities say that they are either not paying gate fees, or are receiving payment for their recovered materials.”

Over the same period, the cost of sending waste to landfill was £85 per tonne. Although some landfill operators cut their prices because of the “competitive” market, says the report, some prices stayed the same or even went up.