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

12.12 Complementary Policies
A number of policies exist which complement the aims and objectives of the
packaging regulations. These complementary policies include:
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� Pay by use (where provision is made for separation of household packaging
and dry recyclable waste);
� The landfill levy; and
� The plastic bag levy.
Although not strictly speaking ‘a policy’ in the terms of this study, the National Waste
Prevention Programme is also of relevance.
12.13 Effect of the Policy on Pricing of Resources / Services
In terms of the polluter pays policy, the polluter is both the packaging producer, who
has the final decision on packaging design, and the consumer, who makes the
decision about purchasing the product. In principle, the mechanism in place ensures
that producers pay for an undefined proportion of the costs of recycling collections,
with these being, to a degree, reflected in the prices paid by producers (strictly
speaking, the extent of this pass through is dependent upon the price-responsiveness
of demand for the packaging in question.
In principle, this type of mechanism improves the efficiency of resource use, without
necessarily being ‘efficient’ in the technical sense. The payments bear no relation to
estimations of externalities associated with packaging waste management.
Data for a number of years financing costs for Repak are shown in Table 12-6. These
charges are effectively transferred onto producers, who account for the costs in the
prices of their goods. The row highlighting ‘financing need’ is somewhat misleading
since the payments are effectively set in advance, and do not bear relation to a
funding gap required to deliver services. The figures do, however, indicate the
average level of payments made per tonne of waste collected for recycling.
Table 12-6: Cost-effectiveness of Compliance Scheme, Repak
29/09/09
2001 2001 2002 2002 2003 2003 2004
2004
Financing need*), mEUR 11.1 13.9 15.8 18.5
Collected quantity, 1 000 t 237 323 415 470**)
Financing need per t collected, EUR/t 47 43 38 39
Change in financing need, per t collected, % – – 8 – 11 + 1
*) Total turnover.
**) Provisional Repak estimate, September 2004.
Note: Note: The table covers response indicator 10 on cost-effectiveness. Data for 1997–1998 are not available. Data
for 1999–2000 are not directly comparable with the ones in the table.
Source: Source: Source: Repak communication for EEA Report