Landfill operators are organisations that dispose of waste at landfill sites. These organisations might be a department within a Local Authority or a private company disposing of a Local Authority’s municipal and commercially generated waste. Landfill sites are the locations, licensed by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA), where domestic and industrial waste is disposed of. In Scotland, landfill operators must be registered with SEPA to take part in the Scottish Landfill Communities Fund (SLCF). Waste Transfer Stations are the buildings or processing sites where waste management operators temporarily house waste. At these facilities the waste can be separated to remove recyclable material, reusable material and bio-degradeable organic waste. The remaining waste is then sent on to registered landfill sites.

Landfill Operators are not under any obligation to take part in the SLCF or to contribute money to environmental projects. Any contributions made by the landfill operators to the SLCF, through an Approved Body (AB), are entirely voluntary. ABs are organisations, enrolled with and regulated by SEPA that operate on a not -for-profit basis distributing SLCF grants to eligible projects.