The role of taxes in waste management in the European Union member states

Abstract

Excessive waste production is a serious ecological problem in the European Union member states. In order to solve that problem, the EU member states apply different forms of economic instruments, such as: deposit refund system, producer responsibility schemes for specific waste streams, taxes and charges. Taxes on waste provide an incentive to produce less waste and to recycle more by increasing the price of waste disposal. In the EU member states, the most important taxes in the field of waste management are the landfill tax, the incineration tax and different forms of the packaging tax. They cannot provide satisfactory effects without the application of preventive measures and other economic instruments; namely, their success in achieving environmental targets will depend on many factors, such as the existence of alternatives to landfill and incineration of waste, the existence of deposit refund system, the height of tax rates, the public support, the development of environmental awareness, etc.