Disposal is not free: fiscal instruments to internalize the environmental costs of solid waste

Abstract

This paper provides an overview of global solid waste management challenges and waste-specific fiscal instruments that can help address them. Countries struggle to manage an ever-increasing volume of solid waste, which currently exceeds 2 billion tons a year. Though solid waste management is usually relegated to subnational governments, externalities from inadequate management, including greenhouse gas emissions and marine plastic, reach a global scale. Reduction of these externalities through improved waste management requires substantial additional fiscal resources. An effective combination of waste charges levied throughout the product cycle can provide resources to upgrade waste management, reducing environmental impacts, and create incentives for improved stewardship.