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

34.9 Effect of the Policy on Pricing of Resources / Services
Residual waste treatment and disposal typically have associated with them external
costs. Collection of residual waste is typically relatively cheap. Recycling, on the other
hand, can incur higher collection costs, even though the avoided costs of treatment /
disposal of residual waste may justify the activity from the perspective of overall
system costs. Recycling typically implies positive externalities relative to the
production of material from primary resources. 679 However, governments rarely
provide subsidies for recycling.
In the absence of a high landfill tax and of direct pay-by-use (which would directly
deliver the economic stimulus to better manage resources), mandatory recycling can
imply some extra costs for the consumer to fund recycling schemes. Although the
policy does not directly align the costs of purchasing goods with the environmental
damage costs, it can force the ‘polluter to pay’ to have their waste recycled.
Contributions made by producer responsibility schemes, and the degree to which they
cover the costs of the collection scheme in each individual country will also impact
the overall cost of the provision of mandatory recycling schemes.
34.10 Evasion and Enforcement
In Switzerland the current producer responsibility schemes that facilitate the majority
of recycling are working well. However, if retailers should start to jeopardise the
financing of collection via free-riding, the government proposes to introduce a
mandatory charge, as is provided for in the Environmental Protection Law. 680
34.11 Lessons Learned
Denmark
As previously discussed, the 29 % household waste collection rate fell far short of the
2000 target of 49 % in Denmark despite the minimum recycling standards. According
to Green Alliance, 681 the principle reasons for this shortfall are a lack of mandatory
separate collection of biowaste and a heavy reliance on bring sites for the collection
of glass and paper/cardboard, leading to poor capture rates.
When the government subsequently proposed the kerbside collection of paper, the
public voted against it due to the perceived increase in expense to the
679 See, for example, 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; D. Hogg (2006)
Impact of Unit-based Waste Collection Charges, Report for the OECD Environment Directorate, Working
Group on Waste Prevention and recycling, May 2006.
680 Federal Office for the Environment (2008) Guide to Waste [Online] (Updated 28 th February 2008).
Available at: http://www.bafu.admin.ch/abfall/01472/index.html?lang=en [Accessed 10 th September
2008].
681 Green Alliance (2002) Creative Policy Packages for Waste: Lessons for the UK, Available at
http://www.greenalliance.org.uk/uploadedFiles/Publications/CPPWDenmark.pdf
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International Review of Waste Policy: Annexes