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

increase of between 30-100%. In Austria the level of tax as a percentage of the
disposal cost varies quite strongly across the employment sector. Therefore it is likely
that some sectors will be more affected than others. 985
Initially in France some rural areas faced much higher total costs for household waste
due to greater distances to small landfill sites generally charging higher landfill gate
fees per ton of waste. However, before 2004 in Austria, the differential in disposal
costs at landfills, between those that had upgraded and those that had not complied
with the regulations, resulted in a commercial advantage for those ‘hanging on’ until
the last minute to comply. This promoted waste tourism, whereby waste generators
found it cheaper to transport material across the country to sites that had not yet
upgraded (despite the higher taxation levels).
52.8.1 Waste Sector
Ecotec reports that the landfill tax in England has had a major effect on the pricing
structures of the waste management industry itself. For example, with skip hire firms,
prices appear to have roughly doubled in the wake of the tax. For this reason, in the
wake of the tax, waste delivered by small traders to civic amenity sites probably
increased. Evidence suggests that waste from some home improvement projects
were being taken to CA sites in hired vans instead of being disposed of in skips as
might have been the case previously. This is not legal in the UK, where CA sites are
reserved for household waste, and the practice led to the introduction of permitting
schemes by local authorities to ensure that material delivered to their sites was not
from tradespeople.
52.8.2 Adaptive Strategies
One would expect companies who assist in offering the provision of advice concerning
recycling and waste minimisation to benefit from the tax.
52.8.3 Impacts on Employment
In England, increased employment can be seen in the form of waste minimization
officers, recycling contractors and operatives, and those associated with the
environmental schemes associated with the landfill tax credits scheme.
In France it was thought that sorting activities would see that greatest increase, with
additional community schemes set up for disabled and ‘youth’ workers. However, the
French also expressed concerns about the reduction of employment in waste
management near its borders with waste being exported to countries with a lower
cost of disposal.
Attention should also be given to the employment effects of re-directing funds into
waste management. For example, if a local authority spends more on waste
management, and in doing so, employs more people in the process, it is diverting
985 Ecotec (2001) Study on the Economic and Environmental Implications of the use of Env. Taxes &
Charges in the EU.
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International Review of Waste Policy: Annexes