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

As part of the NWPP, an agreement to co-fund a Packaging Waste Prevention
Programme has been signed by NWPP and Repak. A budget of €200,000 for 2007
has been approved.
There is no detail of how much each Programme costs.
Householder and Business do not pay to register for either Green Homes or Green
Schools. However, it seems reasonable to suggest that the programme is not costless
to engage with, if only due to demands on staff time. That does not, of course, mean
that these costs are recouped through lessons learned whilst engaging with the
programme.
18.8 Response from Public and Industry
Response to the Green Schools, Green Homes and Green Business Initiatives has
been positive from both the public and Industry. Industry is responsive to the Green
Business Initiatives, especially the Hotel Sector as the savings from diversion of waste
from landfill, reduction in water consumption & carbon emissions if extrapolated
across the entire sector the economic benefit could amount to €81.4 million in cost
savings. It is apparent that the public are responsive to these initiatives as the Green
Schools is now being rolled out to communities in the form of Green Homes.
18.9 Effects on Technical Change / Innovation
The Green Schools Programme has expanded to include the Green Homes
Programme; this is to promote environmental awareness in communities also.
18.10 Social and Distributional Consequences
There are no obvious adverse consequences associated with any of these initiatives.
It is possible that some companies may be less able, or feel less able, to commit time
to the programme.
18.11 Complementary Policies
Waste prevention measures, and the desire to engage with them, will be
strengthened where the costs of waste management are higher. Hence, there are
overlaps with the landfill levy, and pay-by-use policies.
18.12 Effect of the Policy on Pricing of Resources / Services
These initiatives do not change the prices of resources and services. They do,
however, address market failures in respect of waste prevention activity, notably
information failures, and the transaction costs experienced by companies, schools
and homes seeking to understand the opportunities to save money through cost
effective waste prevention measures.
All of the above programmes developed as part of the NWPP are a resource for
school, householders and business in minimising cost to their business. Businesses
can access for free, www.greenbusiness.ie and review all of the Case Studies by
business on cost savings from waste prevention initiatives etc... Schools can access
www.greenschoolsireland.org and review case studies, research undertaken and
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