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

secondary materials may suffer in the short-term. This line of thinking was attributed
to the ease at which the different sources of aggregate would reach the required
standards, assuming it would be more straightforward for primary aggregate.
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� OECD & Dutch Working Party on National Environmental Policy (2002) Case
Studies on Policy Instruments for Environmentally Sustainable Buildings,
www.olis.oecd.org/olis/2001doc.nsf/LinkTo/NT00000C46/$FILE/JT0012820
2.PDF Accessed 21st January 2009.
� S. Böhmer, G. Moser, C. Neubauer, M. Peltoniemi, E. Schachermayer, M.
Tesar, B. Walter & B. Winter (2008) Aggregates Case Study, Report to the
Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (part of the European
Commission’s Joint Research Centre).
The Quarry Products Association, WRAP and the Highways Agency have been at the
centre of the development of the voluntary standards in the UK. The following reports
and websites highlight these key sources:
� WRAP (2004) European Standards for Aggregates, Accessed 21st January
2009,
http://www.aggregain.org.uk/quality/aggregates_standards/european.html
� WRAP’s Aggregate Programme website,
http://www.aggregain.org.uk/wrap_aggregates/index.html, accessed 16 th
February 2009.
� QPA’s website, http://www.qpa.org/prod_agg01.htm, accessed 16 th February
2009.
47.5 Environmental Benefits
Creating standards for aggregates aims to ensure that recycled aggregate can be
competitive with primary aggregate. Certification aims to break down negative
perceptions regarding the standard of recycled aggregate. An increased market share
of recycled aggregate means the demand for aggregate recycling increases, which
results in less going to final disposal facilities. Also, the harmful effects of
transportation may be reduced where recycled aggregate is consumed within the
locality of where it is produced. As shown in Section 46.0, the supply of material may
be expected to grow in the wake of combined aggregate tax/disposal tax policies.
All of the countries listed with mandatory aggregate product standards have disposal
taxes or bans in place. It is thought that the importance of product standards may be
more prominent in their effect if introduced to countries without such taxes in place.
European Standards
Application of one standard to aggregates, irrespective of their source, enables
secondary aggregate to compete to higher grade applications, which in turn is likely to
increase their market share.
The Netherlands
The Netherlands has achieved diversion rates of more than 95% of C&D waste from
landfill and final disposal. However, despite the introduction of quality standards it
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