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

Additionally for incineration taxes, if not based on weight of material but pollutant
levels, costs of measuring instruments and infrastructure on the plant would also be
incurred.
Furthermore there will be some costs associated in developing a system of regulation
and enforcement. New regional offices may need to be set up and staffed to monitor
landfills or manage illegal dumping, for example – see Section 52.11.
Moreover, the cost-effectiveness (in terms of net social benefit) is likely to be low if a
ban on all waste is introduced. 983 This is because the marginal costs for waste
diverted from landfill to another process will be expensive for some materials and / or
streams, and is likely to exceed the benefits of such diversion. Where specific
streams have a high negative environmental impact because of their nature, and
there exists a cost effective alternative to manage the stream, bans may represent a
closer approximation to what is socially optimal.
52.7 Effects on Technical Change / Innovation
In Austria the landfill tax has had a significant impact on the rate of technological
change at landfills. In other countries, concerns over local pollution have been
enough to stimulate legislation to incentivise the implementation of pollution
abatement equipment at landfills. For example, the statutory regulations on landfill in
Denmark require operators to manage their sites in an environmentally favourable
way.
However in relation to non-landfill technologies, a Dutch report concludes that little
technical change has been seen in the Netherlands in terms of new incinerators, but
the use of SRF abroad has increased. 984 Additionally, any link between the tax and
recycling infrastructure was described as ‘ambiguous’.
52.8 Social and Distributional Consequences
Although landfill taxes are not highly significant where sectoral turnover is concerned,
some sectors are clearly affected more than others. The construction industry can be
significantly affected, depending upon the nature of the tax regime, because it
generates significant waste relative to turnover. The same applies for universities,
and other sites where large numbers of people are domiciled and generating waste.
Those areas where there are relatively low gate fees for waste disposal will see a
higher percentage increase and thus ‘feel’ the effects of the tax to a greater extent. In
England typical disposal fees pre-tax for municipal wastes, or non-inert industrial
wastes were between £7-£25 (approx 11.2-40€) per tonne so that the tax implied an
983 H. Bartelings, P. van Beukering, O. Kuik, V. Linderhof, F. Oosterhuis, L. Brander and A. Wagtendonk
(2005) Effectiveness of Landfill Taxation, R-05/05, Report Commissioned by Ministerie von VROM,
November 24, 2005
984 H. Bartelings, P. van Beukering, O. Kuik, V. Linderhof, F. Oosterhuis, L. Brander and A. Wagtendonk
(2005) Effectiveness of Landfill Taxation, R-05/05, Report Commissioned by Ministerie von VROM,
November 24, 2005.
784
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