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

52.0 Policies Aimed at Discouraging Disposal
In this section the main policy mechanisms that have the primary aim of discouraging
the disposal of waste are considered. The main policy instruments evaluated in this
section are:
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• waste taxes
• bans on landfilling / incinerating specific waste types; and
• tradable allowances schemes.
We have chosen to look at these instruments in combination, viewed from a countryspecific
(rather than instrument-specific) perspective. This is because the effects of
the individual policies have to be seen in the broader context of the suite of
instruments used to influence the quantity of, and treatment of, residual waste.
There is an English saying which speaks about the desirability of ‘killing two birds with
one stone’. Textbooks in economics have tended to be sceptical about the
possibilities of realising the promises of this allegory in practical policy making ever
since the publication of Jan Tinbergen’s book “On the Theory of Economic Policy” in
1952. Tinbergen emphasised the need for having as many instruments as one has
policy objectives. This is quite important in the context of how one approaches one’s
understanding of the effectiveness of, for example, landfill bans, or landfill taxes, or
allowances for landfilling. For example, the principle objective of a landfill ban is, to
state the obvious, to ban the targeted materials from landfill. Similarly, the principle
objective of a landfill tax is to increase the price of landfill compared with other
alternative management methods.
Neither a ban nor a tax can, in and of themselves, determine how the material which
is no longer landfilled is managed. This will be determined, in general, by what we
might call ‘the background policy environment’, which will affect the relative prices of
the alternative management options. This is important in what follows. Landfill taxes
and bans do not, in and of themselves, lead directly to the promotion of recycling or
waste prevention. They can, however, assist in meeting these objectives where the
background policy environment is aligned with achieving these objectives.
It is important to note that the options available to different actors who might appear
to be targeted by these policy instruments are different depending upon who the
actor is. A householder, for example, at least where most households are connected
to the collection service (as in most countries other than Ireland) only has the choice
to segregate into different waste streams, whereas a municipality has the choice of
altering collection systems available, and procuring treatment facilities for residual
waste other than landfill. A commercial or industrial enterprise can, to some extent,
International Review of Waste Policy: Annexes