Merseyside Waste Disposal Authority (MWDA) is a statutory Waste Disposal Authority

Waste disposal authority

Waste disposal authorities were established in the UK following the Environmental Protection Act 1990. WDAs are in charge of the use of funds from Council Tax to facilitate the disposal of municipal waste. WDAs must manage waste which is collected by local councils. In the case of unitary...

 that manages the municipal solid waste

Municipal solid waste

Municipal solid waste , commonly known as trash or garbage , refuse or rubbish is a waste type consisting of everyday items we consume and discard. It predominantly includes food wastes, yard wastes, containers and product packaging, and other miscellaneous inorganic wastes from residential,...

 produced in Merseyside

Merseyside

Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. MWDA was established in 1986 following the abolition of Merseyside County Council, to undertake the waste disposal for local authorities across Merseyside – Liverpool, Knowsley, Sefton, Wirral and St Helens. MWDA takes a lead in advocating waste minimisation, recycling and the safe and effective disposal of waste for Merseyside’s residents and operates 14 Household Waste Recycling Centres. Veolia Environmental Services is the current contractor for the Authority's major waste services contract.

The Authority's Revenue Budget for 2010/2011 was set at £70.9m and is funded by way of a levy on each of the Merseyside District Councils which is apportioned on a waste tonnage basis.

The Authority is also responsible for the aftercare of a number of closed landfill sites, which historically had been operated by the Authority or its predecessors. These include the former landfill sites at Bidston Moss and Sefton Meadows.

MWDA is made up of nine elected Members representing the five constituent district councils in the Merseyside area and consists of five Labour councillors, three Liberal Democrat councillors and one Conservative councillor.