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

authorities and private companies themselves, responding to the rising savings to be
made from avoided disposal (i.e. rising landfill charges – see Annex 11.0) Moreover, it
is difficult to see what ‘the Regions’ really do, or indeed, what they can do to promote
development. They have especially limited competences where they have withdrawn
from service provision.
This raises the inter-related questions:
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� Is there a role for Regions?
� If so, what should that be, and should the Regions be as they are currently
constituted?
� Is there a role for a National Board, and if so what would that be?
Neither RWMPs nor any national waste management board can do anything to call
forward development if:
� The market (notably for collection) is as free as it is in Ireland; and
� The incentives in place are not such that the market delivers the desired
facilities in a timely and efficient manner.
Assuming, therefore, that one shifts to a situation where local authorities have control
over household waste (see Annex 3.0), then the first change which may occur is that
economies of scale might become a concept which can be given greater significance
as a consequence of local authorities having clear control over the household waste
stream. Even here, however, it is unclear that regions need to be formed, as distinct
entities, for this purpose. Rather, it may be equally reasonable to allow local
authorities to come together in groupings as they see fit to collaborate on, for
example, procurements of collection contracts, or treatment infrastructure.
It is worth pointing out that in the European context, the Cities and Counties of Ireland
are far from being ‘uniquely small’ where local authorities are concerned. In regions
such as in the Flemish region of Belgium, local authorities group together in
Intermunicipalities, which work together for the purpose of waste management.
Responsibilities for waste management are devolved down to much smaller
municipalities in countries such as Italy, and this has not hindered the development
of services for treatment and collection. 115 Arguably, legislation simply has to allow for
this possibility, and perhaps, facilitate it, rather than forcing it.
In short, therefore, it is difficult to see why Regions need to play a major role in Irish
waste management. Rather than creating additional bodies and layers of
Government, it will be rather more important to design the institutional architecture in
the right manner, and to create the right incentives for actors within the sector, to
deliver the right outcomes.
115 It is worth clarifying here that ‘Italy’ is not ‘Naples’. The inevitable scoffing that frequently
accompanies the suggestion that any part of Italy might have a sensible waste management
infrastructure belies the reality in which, as in many other countries, excellent performance sits
alongside some less educative examples.
29/09/09