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

Table 13-9: Financing Sources for Recycling of Household Packaging, 2000
249
€ € per per tonne tonne sorted sorted France France Germany Germany
NL NL
UK UK
Tax payers/charities 41 0 53 -10
Fillers/importers 40 315 0 0
Packaging chain 0 0 0.08 38
Source: Taylor Nelson Sofres (2000) Cost-Efficiency Of Packaging Recovery Systems- the Case Of
France, Germany, The Netherlands And The United Kingdom, Report for the European Commission,
February 2000.
One of the features of producer responsibility systems is that other things being
equal, the greater the proportion of costs which are placed upon producers, the closer
the system is likely to come to one where pricing delivers efficient outcomes. This is
especially true where a) the requirement to fund a more-or-less universal recycling
service exists (or, what amounts to an equivalent requirement, the target recycling
rate is high), and b) PBU systems are in place. In these cases, households are faced
with the costs of the recycling services through their purchases, and are then
effectively incentivised to use the ‘already paid for’ recycling service in preference to
the residual waste bin through the PBU system.
13.11 Evasion and Enforcement
In Germany, the revised packaging ordinance (1998) introduced responsibility at the
level of individual organisations. Retailers and other members can choose whether
they take back packing waste themselves (or supported by waste management
companies) or join a comparable system to the DSD, or the DSD itself.
The Green Dot image is intended to denote products whose producers are a part of
the recycling system to reduce free-riders. However, as separation of products is
done by householders, non-Green Dot branded items can find their way into this
recycling stream.
In Japan there is no equivalent to the Green Dot and the only defence against free
riders is that the Japanese Containers and Packaging Recycling Association publish
the names of producers that have performed their obligation on its website.
The UK has fines for non-compliance (e.g. £10,000 for avoiding packaging costs of
£3,500) 263 , and the clear cut administration by a single organisation (Environment
Agency in England and Wales) also helps enforcement.
13.12 Lessons Learned
If the policy is aimed towards household packaging, as for example in Germany, then
the overall cost of recycling is higher, whereas if industry can choose the source of
263 Article in PackagingNews.co.uk, 26 September 2008,
http://www.packagingnews.co.uk/news/849282/Renoir-Shoes-fined-breaching-pack-wasteregulations/
International Review of Waste Policy: Annexes