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

that the specified materials are not placed into the residual waste bin (i.e. reference
to sections 45 and 46 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990) would stand up in a
court of law. A similar case in Exeter in 2006 saw the council lose against a
householder, as the council was not able to prove, beyond all reasonable doubt, that
it was indeed that individual who had put the offending material in the bin. 661
Hungary
According to EIONET 662, the introduction of separate collections for a number of
waste streams (predominantly at bring sites) has led to a change in the attitude of the
population towards their waste and the engagement of the private sector into the
separate collection process. So far, separate collection has led to the recovery of
approximately 10 % of the generated municipal solid waste.
The Netherlands
According to ECOTEC, 663 research was undertaken in the Netherlands between 1993
and 1995 to see whether a national, broadly uniform, separate collection system
could be undertaken for the dry recycling components of household waste. The
system that was developed consisted of the collection of glass at bring banks (1 per
every 650 inhabitants), kerbside collection for paper and board at least once a month
and textiles collection at least once a quarter (plus in bring banks). Discussions
around the model led to the decision to leave the collection function to the
government in the Netherlands, with the municipal collection infrastructure offering
the best opportunities for reaching recycling targets. Collection of plastics at the
kerbside was also studied, but was found to be uneconomic. 664 Several additional
enhancements to the service were proposed, such as the use of can banks, plastic
bottle banks and drinks cartons collections. The relatively simple model gave a strong
guideline for local authorities to follow. As a result, even as far back as 1996 the
Netherlands was achieving separate collection rates for recycling/reuse of 44 %. In
2006, this rate had increased to 64 %. 665
South Korea
As a consequence of the introduction of the Volume-based Waste Fee (VBWF)
combined with a mandatory recycling service, the recycling rate in South Korea rose
661 LetsRecycle.com (2006) Exeter Loses Court Case over Recycling Contamination.
662 European Topic Centre on Resource and Waste Management [Online],
http://waste.eionet.europa.eu/facts/factsheets_waste/Instruments [Accessed 8th September 2008].
663 ECOTEC Research and Consulting Limited (2000) Beyond the Bin: The Economics of Waste
Management Options, Report produced for Friends of the Earth, UK Waste and Waste Watch. Available
at http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/reports/economics_waste_options.pdf
664 Resource Recovery Forum (2004) High Diversion of Municipal Waste: Is It Achievable?
665 H. Fogarty, L. Reid and H. Sprott (2008) International Review of Recycling Policies, Scottish
Government Social Research. Available at
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/231872/0063356.pdf
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