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

to this type of abuse given a) its small size; and b) the fact that no other municipality
in Catalunya (or Spain) was implementing such charges. Other things being equal,
one would expect problems of waste tourism to be greater in such situations (the
opportunity is greater and the benefit is maximised), and much reduced where
charging is implemented over large, contiguous areas.
It has been suggested that one of the effects of household waste charging is that it
leads to commercial waste that is otherwise being collected through the household
system being shifted into the “correct” channels (so that households are not crosssubsidising
small businesses).
8.5.5 Specific Impacts on Organic Waste (Due to Changes in Collection
Systems)
In many instances, the key waste prevention measure observed tends to be due to
home composting. This happens most of all:
137
� For perhaps obvious reasons, where charges are levied on biowaste sacks /
bins as well as refuse sacks / bins. This is becoming a widespread
phenomenon in Germany, Austria and Belgium; or
� Where the only biowaste collection is for kitchen waste, and where support is
offered for home composting (this occurs in Italy).
The large reduction in collected waste seen in the Netherlands, for instance may be
strongly related to the garden waste collection previously in existence. Such a
prevention effect may not be expected where no such collection has ever been in
place. The case of Comuni dei Navigli in Italy, as documented in the IWM charging
review, involved a sack-based system where the previous approach to organic wastes
was collection of kitchen waste, with garden waste not included in the collection
system. 176 The study indicated little by way of reduction in waste quantities. Given
that in most studies, a key contribution to waste prevention appears to come through
the increased uptake and intensity of home composting, the likelihood that relatively
little garden waste was previously being collected suggests that the ‘opportunity’ for
waste prevention through this avenue would have been reduced.
This indicates a possible element of ‘path-dependence’ in the measured
effectiveness of charging systems as regards waste prevention.
8.5.6 Factors That Can Reduce the Impact of Charging on Waste
Prevention
The IWM charging review showed pay-by-use can have significant impacts on waste
prevention. For example a scheme in Landkreis Schweinfurt, Germany delivered a
reduction in total waste collected of around 28% of the pre-scheme quantity (using a
volume, frequency and weight based scheme including charges for garden waste);
this percentage is reduced somewhat if ‘expectation effects’ (household clear outs
176 Eunomia (2003) To Charge or Not to Charge? Final report to IWM (EB). Referred to within the text of
this report as ‘the IWM charging review’.
International Review of Waste Policy: Annexes