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

eduction in waste quantities. The municipality would have been particularly likely to
give rise 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). 186
8.11.2 Illegal Disposal
Issues of illegal dumping or backyard burning tend to raise greater concern than
waste tourism. Charging has been shown to increase recycling, move materials into
different collection systems and promote prevention activities. However, such a policy
on residual waste stands the risk of leading to illegal disposal. It is certainly not true
that unexplained waste prevention equates with illegal dumping (as some authors,
such as Fullerton and Kinnaman appear to have assumed). 187 The rest of the
literature, as assessed in the Defra charging review, varies in the extent to which
illegal dumping is shown to be a problem. There is no clearly defined relationship
between the introduction of charging systems and the incidence of fly-tipping beyond
the statement that there is a tendency for illegal dumping to increase if the issue is
not addressed, and where the collection scheme does not provide convenient
possibilities for source separation of a wide range of materials.
The literature, and our experience speaking with waste managers concerning the
issue, would suggest that there is a tendency for fly-tipping to worsen once charging
schemes are introduced. The extent of this, and for how long it is sustained, are the
key issues. In terms of quantification, one problem is that many authorities do not
monitor the extent of fly-tipping before a scheme is introduced, or at least, they do not
do so as intensely as they do after it is introduced. This is partly because most
jurisdictions anticipate illegal dumping as a potential problem and therefore seek to
take actions to enforce the system in its early stages to make clear that action will be
taken against transgressors.
In Korea, Hong showed that dumping was substantial after the adoption of unit-based
pricing systems. 188 The OECD charging review, however, concludes that enforcement
and the increased scope of collection of recyclables (notably, the increasingly
widespread collection of kitchen wastes) has meant that the problem is becoming
less problematic over time. No information was obtained for the pre-scheme situation,
but following the scheme’s introduction, there has been a steady decline in incidents,
as shown in Figure 8-9, down to 13% of the 1995 level. Control measures include a
system of fines which effectively encourages citizens to report people disposing of
186 D. Hogg (2006) Impact of Unit-based Waste Collection Charges. Referred to within the text of this
report as ‘the OECD charging review’. ENV/EPOC/WGWPR(2005)10/FINAL, Paris: OECD.
187 D. Fullerton and T. Kinnaman (1996) Household Responses to Pricing Garbage by The Bag,
American Economic Review, 86 (4), September, pp 971-84. For a review suggesting that the authors’
interpretation of the evidence is flawed see D. Hogg (2006) Impact of Unit-based Waste Collection
Charges, ENV/EPOC/WGWPR(2005)10/FINAL, Paris: OECD.
188 S. Hong and R. Adams (1999) Household Responses to Price Incentives for Recycling: Some Further
Evidence, Land Economics 75, pp 505-14.
153
International Review of Waste Policy: Annexes