THE LANDFILL COMMUNITIES FUND

How it works
The Landfill Communities Fund (LCF) encourages and enables Landfill Operators (LOs) to support a wide range of environmental projects by giving them a 90 per cent tax credit against their donations to Environmental Bodies (EBs). These donations are capped at 6 per cent of the LO's landfill tax liability.

Eligibility
A very wide range of organisations may register as EBs and receive LCF money. In addition, many organisations benefit from LCF funding without enrolling as EBs, choosing instead to work with a Distributive Environmental Body (DEB). However, whichever route to funding suits your organisation, you must comply with the following:

• Non-profit distributing. It is not necessary to be a charity, but any surplus you make must be used to further your organisation's objects. Surplus must not be used to pay dividends or other rewards.

• Organisations must not be controlled - directly or indirectly - by a local authority or a landfill operator registered for landfill tax. Guidance on this issue is available from ENTRUST – the Landfill Communities Fund regulatory body.

The Distributors of Funds
Donations can only support projects that fall within LCF OBJECTS. All LO donations must be made to EBs registered with ENTRUST, but within these restrictions the allocation of landfill tax credits remains at the sole discretion of the donor LO.

ENTRUST does not allocate grants or have the power to compel an LO to fund a particular project. Neither does ENTRUST have the power to prevent the funding of a compliant project (i.e. a project that falls within the objects of the LCF). Consequently, ENTRUST takes no view on the relative value or merits of particular projects.

The Better Belfast programme has completed its final distribution of the Landfill Communities Fund. The main distributor for this fund from April 2008 will be Groundwork NI. For further information contact Mel Waddell at Groundwork, Tel: 028 9074 9494, www.groundworkni.org.uk.

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