Does Money Talk? Waste Charging in the Republic of Ireland: Government, Governance and Performance

Abstract

The question of how best to govern waste is a challenging issue across the globe. As a result, new policy instruments, such as voluntary agreements, eco-labelling and market based instruments, frequently identified as being emblematic of a shift from government to governance are being developed and implemented in an attempt to improve waste management. In particular, the introduction of pay-by-use (PBU) mechanisms, where charges are based on the weight or volume of waste presented for collection, have been cited as a key means to promote the polluter pays principle (PPP) in the waste field. However, most analyses of waste charges have attempted to quantify PBU impacts in terms of tonnes of waste diverted from landfill, recycled or dumped illegally, and less consideration has been given to their development and implementation from a governing perspective. In response, this paper reports on a nationwide survey of PBU in Ireland that revealed a general increase in recycling and diversion from landfill since it was introduced in 2005. The paper concludes that although such metrics seem to support the introduction of PBU they must be read within a dynamic policy context characterized by limited information, increasingly privatized waste services and neoliberal statecraft.