International Review of Waste Management Policy - Department of ...

shows improvements made in separate collection due both to improvements in
provision of recycling services and also the introduction of charging in 1998. In the
year 1998 a slight constraint on the overall growth of waste arisings may be
observed, though this is barely discernible and could not be assumed to be
statistically significant. However, separation of materials for recycling is much more
apparent.
Figure 8-1: Evolution of Waste and Recycling in Ghent and Destelbergen
Tonnes Waste Collected
126
120,000
100,000
80,000
60,000
40,000
20,000
0
29/09/09
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
Year
Others
SDW (small dangerous waste)
Wood
Non-glass Packaging
Electrical & Electronic Equpt.
Metal
Glass
Garden green waste (containerpark)
Separately Collected Biowaste (doorstep)
Paper/hardboard
Demolition waste
Residual waste
Source: Hogg, D. (2006) Impact of Unit-based Waste Collection Charges. Referred to within this report
as ‘the OECD charging review’. ENV/EPOC/WGWPR(2005)10/FINAL, Paris: OECD.
The review goes on to assess permutations of costs and benefits associated with
these changes in waste production and separation, the results of which are shown in
Figure 8-2. Because the scheme was introduced in a period where other changes
were being made, the cost benefit is shown for cases where 25%, 50% and 100% of
the effects of the DVR scheme and the enhanced service are attributed to the DVR
scheme. The net costs clearly depend upon the attribution. Attributing all the change
to the charging scheme seems unrealistic and would lead to benefits (cost
reductions) far greater than in the other schemes examined even though the effect on
waste prevention is barely existent in this case. However, even where only 25% of the
effects of the change from 1997 to 1999 are attributed to the scheme, net social
benefits (cost reductions) lie between €3 and €5 per household. It may be concluded
from this not only that recycling leads to a positive balance of financial costs and
environmental benefit (measured as monetised costs), but also that DVR charging
itself can lead to outcomes where the benefits exceed the costs of the change.