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

England and Wales (United Kingdom)
The Household Waste Recycling Act (2003) states that collection authorities in
England and Wales must collect at the kerbside any two recyclable materials, either
together or individually separated, from the remainder of the household waste
stream. In addition, Barnet Borough Council provides one example where, alongside
the Household Waste Recycling Act, additional responsibility for recycling is also
placed on the householder. Barnet Borough Council introduced a compulsory
recycling scheme in 2004, undertaking monitoring of household participation in the
scheme and providing further contact and the threat of prosecution to households
that failed to participate. This scheme has since been replicated in a number of other
local authorities in England, and is discussed further in Section 34.4.
Finland
The separate collection of materials from the household waste stream is specified for
paper and packaging in producer responsibility decrees 883/1998 and 962/1997
respectively. The systems for collection and recovery of paper and packaging are
predominantly funded via producers, but provided by municipalities. However, where
the separate collection of packaging is not justified from either an environmental or
economic standpoint, the municipality also becomes financially responsible for the
collection and may levy charges accordingly.
Germany
Producer responsibility for the separate collection of all types of packaging has been
in place in Germany since 1991. The ‘Green Dot Scheme’ funds and provides local
collection services for glass, paper/cardboard, plastics, tinplate, aluminium and
composites (see Section 14.0). In addition, the Biowaste Ordinance (1998) sets out
the requirement for municipalities to provide a separate collection of food and garden
waste for householders to ensure that, following composting or fermentation, only
material whose content of contaminants and potentially toxic elements is negligibly
low can be used as a soil improver / amendment / potting medium. Householders in
Germany are not strictly obligated to use the recycling services that are provided, but
are encouraged to do so due to the Pay-As-You-Throw system (see Section 9.0).
Hungary
The separate collection of metals, plastic, paper, glass and food/garden waste from
households began in Hungary in 2001. Such collections were linked to the ban on
landfilling of organic waste and the environmental taxes (producer responsibility)
placed on packaging. The local authority provides the collection service on behalf of
the producers, though the majority of collection is via bring sites in Hungary rather
than a kerbside collection.
Italy
Decree 22/97 and more recently Decree 152/06 set out specific targets for the
collection of different waste streams in Italy, as well as the re-design of the packaging
system towards producer responsibility. The waste streams to which targets apply,
and which are thus heading towards mandatory source-separation, are
paper/cardboard, glass, plastic, metal, biowaste, waste wood and textiles. In
developing Waste Management Regional Plans, Local Administrations must define
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International Review of Waste Policy: Annexes