The influence of organizational and economic methods of household waste management on the volumes and structure of its formation: the experience of the Netherlands

Abstract

In the context of global consumption growth, the amount of household waste is increasing, the management of which should be based on the choice of those methods that ensure the growth of its processing and do not increase the financial burden on the population. This study examines the most common methods of organizing the management of solid domestic waste and the formation of tariffs for its disposal in the Netherlands. The effect of the applied method on the composition of the generated waste and the degree of separation of their components is analyzed. The cost of handling each ton of waste using each of the three most common methods is calculated. The different influence of the method of payment for household waste management on the volume of mixed waste generation per capita and the volume of waste generation in general has been proven. The largest volumes of mixed waste were generated in those municipalities that introduced an annual fee per inhabitant. The smallest are when using payment by the volume of the garbage bag. Depending on the method used in determining the payment for household waste management, the financial burden per tenant is calculated. In municipalities that have implemented a fixed fee for waste disposal per inhabitant, the load was 1.04 % of the annual income of the person, and when paying depending on the volume of garbage bags, 4.65 %. It is established that the existing waste management system in the Netherlands has ensured a high level of organization of separate collection of household waste. As a result of the study, no direct relationship was found between the method of calculating payment for waste disposal and the generation of mixed waste. It is concluded that the effectiveness of the implementation of the household waste management policy depends on the level of public awareness of the negative consequences of its impact on the environment