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

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14.5 Environmental Benefits<br />

14.5.1 Effects on <strong>Waste</strong> Prevention<br />

Aside from the effects <strong>of</strong> the DSD on enhancement <strong>of</strong> recycling or energy recovery<br />

quotas for packaging waste (see below), two different studies claim positive effects <strong>of</strong><br />

the DSD on waste prevention (i.e. <strong>of</strong> reducing its amount and its hazardousness).<br />

The Prognos AG calculated an 18 % decrease between 1991 and 2000 (1.6 Million<br />

tonnes per annum in 2000) <strong>of</strong> packaging material in Germany caused by the DSD<br />

system. 269 The figure was created by a hypothetical calculation <strong>of</strong> the packaging<br />

material developments with, and without, the existence <strong>of</strong> the DSD. The experts <strong>of</strong> the<br />

Prognos AG underscored the decoupling <strong>of</strong> the amount <strong>of</strong> packaging material from<br />

GDP growth in Germany.<br />

The second study was carried out by the Öko-Institut commissioned by the DSD. 270<br />

The results <strong>of</strong> the in depth work showed a 4 % absolute decrease <strong>of</strong> packaging<br />

material in Germany over the period <strong>of</strong> time 1990 – 1999. The Öko-Institut pointed<br />

out, that this decline followed a long period <strong>of</strong> continuous increases in packaging<br />

material and packaging waste. Furthermore the Netherlands (without a system like<br />

DSD) showed an increase <strong>of</strong> packaging material (15 – 20%) over the same time<br />

period. The Öko-Institut assumed that the relative effect (against the growth in the<br />

Netherlands) <strong>of</strong> the DSD on waste prevention could be as high as 25 %. However, the<br />

experts <strong>of</strong> the Öko-Institut suggested deeper investigations <strong>of</strong> waste prevention and<br />

the effects <strong>of</strong> DSD would be required to obtain a clearer picture.<br />

The task <strong>of</strong> isolating the effects <strong>of</strong> the DSD on waste prevention is not trivial because<br />

various other developments and influences (GDP growth, trends in the packaging<br />

sector such as usage <strong>of</strong> PET instead <strong>of</strong> glass, light weighting <strong>of</strong> packaging) must be<br />

taken into account.<br />

14.5.2 Effects on Recycling<br />

In addition to the hypothesised prevention <strong>of</strong> packaging waste, the recycling <strong>of</strong> the<br />

material collected by the DSD has significant effects in terms <strong>of</strong> the reduction <strong>of</strong> CO2<br />

emissions. According to the DSD, the take-back-system led to a reduction <strong>of</strong> the<br />

equivalent <strong>of</strong> 1.5 million tons <strong>of</strong> CO2 in 2007 and 1.4 million tons <strong>of</strong> CO2 in 2008 (see<br />

Table 14-3). 271<br />

Furthermore the DSD System has had a marked impact on other fractions <strong>of</strong><br />

household waste – especially goods made <strong>of</strong> plastic and metals which are not<br />

packaging materials. People <strong>of</strong>ten place these plastic goods (plastic cups, spoons<br />

etc.) at the end <strong>of</strong> their life in the yellow bag (and not the conventional waste bin)<br />

269 Assessment <strong>of</strong> Sustainability and the Perspectives <strong>of</strong> the DSD, Prognos AG, commissioned by the<br />

Duales System Deutschland AG, Düsseldorf, June 2002.<br />

270 Advantage <strong>of</strong> the Green Dot for the Environment, Öko-Institut, commissioned by the Duales System<br />

Deutschland AG, Düsseldorf, March 2002.<br />

271 DSD Press Release “Recycling rate on a record level”, from 1.9.2008.<br />

256<br />

29/09/09

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