Illegal Waste Disposal Research Articles

On second-best policing effort against the illegal disposal of recyclable waste

In this paper, we construct a partial equilibrium model of a product that can be manufactured by using a recycled material as well as a virgin natural resource. In particular, we consider the possibility that a household may resort to the illicit disposal of its waste, such as midnight dumping, instead of discarding it properly. Our focus is on conducting a comparative static analysis on the second-best level of the government’s policing effort to counter illegal disposal. More specifically, we examine how the government should adjust the effort level in response to changes in the environmental damage cost of illegal disposal and the cost associated with exported waste.

Effectiveness of policy against illegal disposal of waste

Our objective is to analyze the effectiveness, against the illegal disposal of waste, of a licensing system that has been introduced in a waste management policy. We theoretically find enforcement leverage in the licensing system, and then examine the theoretical result empirically. The results suggest that extending liability to disposers, which forms the basis of the enforcement leverage, deters illegal disposal more effectively than increasing penalties for illegal disposal. We also obtain evidence of transboundary movement of illegal disposal, and find how the court determines penalties for illegal disposal.

Removal of Cr(VI) by Nanoscale Zero-valent Iron (nZVI) From Soil Contaminated with Tannery Wastes

The illegal disposal of tannery wastes at Rania, Kanpur has resulted in accumulation of hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)], a toxic heavy metal in soil posing risk to human health and environment. 27 soil samples were collected at various depths from Rania for the assessment of Cr(VI) level in soil. Out of 27 samples, five samples had shown significant level of Cr(VI) with an average concentration of 15.84 mg Kg(-1). Varied doses of nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI) were applied on Cr(VI) containing soil samples for remediation of Cr(VI). Results showed that 0.10 g L(-1) nZVI completely reduces Cr(VI) within 120 min following pseudo first order kinetics. Further, to test the efficacy of nZVI in field, soil windrow experiments were performed at the contaminated site. nZVI showed significant Cr(VI) reduction at field also, indicating it an effective tool for managing sites contaminated with Cr(VI).

Integrated geophysical measurements on a test site for detection of buried steel drums

Geophysical methods are increasingly used to detect and locate illegal waste disposal and buried toxic steel drums. This study describes the results of a test carried out in clayey-sandy ground where 12 empty steel drums had previously been buried at 4-5 m below ground level. This test was carried out with three geophysical methods for steel-drum detection: a magnetometric survey, electrical resistivity tomography with different arrays, and a multifrequency frequency-domain electromagnetic induction survey. The data show that as partially expected, the magnetometric and electromagnetic induction surveys detected the actual steel drums buried in the subsurface, while the electrical resistivity tomography mainly detected the changes in some of the physical properties of the terrain connected with the digging operations, rather than the actual presence of the steel drums.

Illegal dumping and crime prevention: A case study of Ash Road, Liverpool Council

Illegal waste disposal is an increasingly significant and costly problem. This paper considers a specific hot-spot for illegal dumping in Sydney, Australia from criminological perspectives. We contribute to the developing criminological literature that considers environmental harms as a crime. This draws upon the symbolic aspect of criminal law, contributing to the notion of environmental harms as wrongs worthy of sanction, and facilitates analysis through the prism of criminological literature. We apply theories of crime prevention to the site and argue that these techniques of crime prevention would be cheaper and more effective long-term than current council responses of simply reacting to dumping after it has occurred.

Lead isotopes in soils and groundwaters as tracers of the impact of human activities on the surface environment: The Domizio-Flegreo Littoral (Italy) case study

The isotopic signature of geogenic and anthropogenic materials, in combination with concentration data for pollutants, can help trace the origin and the extent of contamination in the environment. This approach is particularly effective if naturally occurring and anthropogenically introduced metals have different isotopic ratios. Lead isotope analysis on soils from 7 profiles (1 m depth) and on groundwaters from 8 wells have been used to determine the impact of human activities on the surface environment of Domizio-Flegreo Littoral. Result obtained show that in sub-rural areas the isotopic composition of the samples collected along the soil profiles of Domizio-Flegreo Littoral is likely mostly controlled by the nature of the parent geologic material (natural) while in more urbanized areas (Giugliano) Pb isotopic composition in superficial soils is mostly influenced by anthropic sources such as motor vehicles. Lead isotopic ratios in groundwaters also show that the use of pesticides and, probably, the influence of aerosols and the presence of illegal waste disposal can influence water quality.

Smart regulation and enforcement of illegal disposal of electronic waste

This policy essay discusses the potential of smart regulation on the basis of supply-chain regulation by the European Union (EU), and in particular the regulatory enforcement policy of e-waste in the Netherlands. In this policy essay, we first describe this approach as an example of smart regulation, by analyzing (1) how the supply-chain approach aims to prevent illegal export, (2) what effects can be expected of self-regulation and third-party regulation (3) how public enforcement is organized. We then broaden our analysis from the e-waste supply chain to the more general issue of the life-cycle of metals in electronics, to demonstrate that a solution to the problem of e-waste may be not in further criminalizing e-waste, but in better regulation of the recycling market.

The Sopranos Redux: The Empirical Economics of Waste Crime

Illegal waste disposal is one of the most important environmental problems worldwide. An increasing number of countries apply criminal sanctioning to environmental offenders, based on the notion, but without any evidence that such sanctions provide deterrence. The present paper studies the determinants of waste crime in one German state. Using panel data the paper finds evidence in support of the deterrence hypothesis, especially for the first stages of enforcement. At the same time, deterrence is modulated by additional factors: Violations appear to be treated differently depending on their local political economy context.

GIS, multi‐criteria and multi‐factor spatial analysis for the probability assessment of the existence of illegal landfills

This work deals with the identification of potentially contaminated areas using remote sensing, geographic information systems (GIS) and multi‐criteria spatial analysis. The identification of unknown illegal landfills is a crucial environmental problem in all developed and developing countries, where a large number of illegal waste deposits exist as a result of fast, and relatively unregulated, industrial growth over the past century. The criteria used to perform the spatial analysis are here selected by considering the characteristics which are ‘desirable’ for an illegal waste disposal site, chiefly related to the existence of roads for easy access and to a low population density which facilitates unnoticed dumping of illegal waste materials. A large dataset describing known legal and illegal landfills and the context of their location (population, road network, etc.) was used to perform a spatial statistical analysis to select factors and criteria allowing for the identification of the known waste deposits. The final result is a map describing the likelihood of an illegal waste deposit to be located at any arbitrary location. Such a probability map is then used together with remote sensing techniques to narrow down the set of possibly contaminated sites (Silvestri and Omri, 2008), which are candidates for further analyses and field investigations. The importance of the integration of GIS and remote sensing is highlighted and represents a key instrument for environmental management and for the spatially‐distributed characterization of possible uncontrolled landfill sites.

Forensic Geology in Environmental Crime: Illegal Waste Movement & Burial in Northern Ireland

The illegal burial of waste often occurs in locations where loose, transferable material is abundant, allowing covert pits to be dug or filled. The transfer of waste material onto suspects and their vehicles during loading, unloading, and burial is common, as is the case during other criminal activities such as the burial of murder victims. We use two case studies to show that the established principles of using geological materials in excluding or linking suspects can be applied to illegal waste disposal. In the first case, the layering of different geological materials on the tailgate of a container used to transport toxic waste demonstrated where the vehicle had been and denied the owner's alibi, associating him with an illegal dumpsite. In the second case, an unusual suite of minerals, recovered from a suspect's trousers, provided the intelligence that led environmental law enforcement officers to an illegal waste burial site.

Environmental enforcement in the UK

In the UK, the Environment Agency is responsible for enforcement of environmental legislation and offences committed under such laws and regulations. Under the current regime, if deemed serious enough, offenders are taken to court. In the past eight years, there have been approximately 1600 cases (including approximately 800 prosecutions) per year with 61% being for illegal disposal of wastes and a further 26% being for water pollution incidents. The level of fine has been relatively small at around pound sterling 6700 per conviction for water offences and pound sterling 3700 for waste offences. This is possibly due to a lack of awareness of the damage caused in environmental offending by the courts. New legislation in the form of the Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act 2008 is likely to change the way offences are assessed and treated by the Agency and a proportion of cases will be dealt with by the Agency itself, with appeals being handled by a Tribunal and only the most serious cases going to the criminal courts. The efficacy of this approach has yet to be tested in the UK but may speed up the process and lead to more appropriate sanctions being levied.

廃棄物不適正処分現場における環境修復技術

廃棄物不適正処分現場における環境修復技術

Discharger Responsibilities for Waste Disposal and Moral Hazards of Insurance

In this paper we consider the design of optimal liability rules for illegal waste disposal problems using a model that includes the discharger, disposer, insurer and administration. The relationship between the discharger's responsibility and the discharger's demand for insurance are examined. The main conclusions are as follows. Regardless of moral hazard problem by insurance, the discharger's incentives for prevention of unlawful dumping increase when he is liable for damages. Moreover, if the delegation cost is sufficiently small, the discharger necessarily delivers the industrial wastes to the appropriate disposer. Therefore, extension of liability to the discharger is always optimal when the delegation cost is sufficiently small. On the other hand, if the delegation cost exceeds a certain threshold, to prevent unlawful delegation it is not optimal to extend liability to the discharger contracting with an appropriate disposer.JEL Classification: Q58, Q59

Facilitating the improved management of waste in South Africa through a national waste information system

Developing a waste information system (WIS) for a country is more than just about collecting routine data on waste; it is about facilitating the improved management of waste by providing timely, reliable information to the relevant role-players. It is a means of supporting the waste governance challenges facing South Africa - challenges ranging from strategic waste management issues at national government to basic operational challenges at local government. The paper addresses two hypotheses. The first is that the identified needs of government can provide a platform from which to design a national WIS framework for a developing country such as South Africa, and the second is that the needs for waste information reflect greater, currently unfulfilled challenges in the sustainable management of waste. Through a participatory needs analysis process, it is shown that waste information is needed by the three spheres of government, to support amongst others, informed planning and decision-making, compliance monitoring and enforcement, community participation through public access to information, human, infrastructure and financial resource management and policy development. These needs for waste information correspond closely with key waste management challenges currently facing the country. A shift in governments approach to waste, in line with national and international policy, is evident from identified current and future waste information needs. However, the need for information on landfilling remains entrenched within government, possibly due to the poor compliance of landfill sites in South Africa and the problems around the illegal disposal of both general and hazardous waste.

An Economic Analysis of Information Disclosure and Industrial Waste Policies

In this paper we consider the design of environmental policies for illegal waste disposal problems using a model that consists of the firm and administration. The first feature of this paper introduces the penalty for evasive action by a firm that illegally disposes wastes. The second clarifies the influence information disclosures exert on policy design by comparison analysis of the disclosure of information on the monitoring budget (information disclosure strategy) and no disclosure (information closed-door strategy). The main conclusions of this paper are as follows. The first conclusion of this paper is different from Becker (1968) that insists that it is necessary to raise the penalty level to the upper bound. That is, we showed that the penalty level should not be increased to the upper bound because the larger penalty level promotes evasion of the penalty. The second conclusion is that the monitoring budget under the information disclosure strategy is larger than under the information closed-door strategy. Also we showed that the penalty level under the information disclosure strategy is smaller than under the information closed-door strategy.JEL Classification: Q28, Q29

Management and control of radioactive wastes in Ghana

The National Radioactive Waste Management Centre (NRWMC) and the Radiation Protection Institute (RPI) of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) in conjunction with other state regulatory agencies have embarked on security measures to protect the citizens from any radiation exposure resulting from sabotage or illegal disposal of radioactive wastes. Actions taken to educate the public, industrialists, health workers and other users of radioactive materials on the national system of control of radioactive wastes are presented. The roles of NRWMC as the institution responsible for collection, treatment and safe disposal of spent and disused radio-active materials are specified, while RPI is responsible for monitoring and tracking all radioactive materials imported, stored or exported. The profile of radioactive sources in active use are also presented, in addition to spent radioactive sources currently in the custody of the NRWMC as part of the inventory for creating databases on radioactive wastes in Ghana. Journal of Applied Science and Technology Vol. 10(1&2) 2005: 97-103

Natural and anthropogenic hazards in karst areas of Albania

Abstract. In Albania, about one quarter of the country is occupied by outcroppings of soluble rocks; thus, karst represents an important and typical natural environment. Today karst areas are seriously threatened by a number of hazards, of both natural and anthropogenic origin. Many problems are related to agricultural practices: the use of heavy machinery, ever-increasing in recent years, results at many sites in destruction of the original karst landscapes. Use of pesticides and herbicides, in addition, causes the loss of karst ecosystems of great biological relevance, as has been observed in the Dumre district, where about 80 lakes of karst origin are present in the evaporites of Permian-Triassic age. Agricultural practice performed on slopes with medium to high gradient is a further factor which greatly predispose the slopes to erosion. The cave heritage of Albania (estimated so far in about 1000 caves) is at risk because of the uncontrolled quarrying activities which determine the total or partial destruction of karst caves, including many of naturalistic, archaeological and speleological interest. Many caves have also become sites of illegal disposal of solid and liquid wastes, which causes pollution of the karst ecosystems and of the aquifer therein present, with heavy negative consequences on the quality of water. Even though most of the cases here mentioned are related to anthropogenic activities, the natural hazards, such as subsidence phenomena, floods, and the development of sinkholes, have not to be disregarded.

資源と環境は表裏一体

Human being has made a bypass in the material flow in the Earth by consuming various kinds of mineral and energy resources in order to develop his activities. The environmental problems caused by the consumption indicate that the flux of the bypass has become too large to be neglected when compared with that of the natural flow. It means, accordingly, that resources and the environment are two sides of the same coin. Many mineral resources have been recycled in order to reduce the consumption and keep the environment. In contrast, energy resources, which are used for the recycling in a large quantity, cannot be recycled (Fig. 2). This implies that an appropriate amount of recycled mineral resources seems to be determined by comparing the energy resources used for supplying virgin resources and those for recycling used ones (Fig. 3). In the artificial process of material flow, money migrates contrary to materials between the resources supply and the final consumption, but parallel between consumption and waste-treatment (the upper diagram of Fig. 4). This causes illegal disposal of waste. If a guarantee system is established, money is expected to migrate also contrary to material in this part of the material flow (the lower diagram of Fig. 4). In this system, resources-supply is the most suitable point for collecting deposit tax. Many ideas are proposed for solving the carbon dioxide problem. Any of them has not been evaluated, however, from the viewpoint of the Earth's history. For example, a proposal claims that we can fix carbon dioxide in coal beds, but it has not yet shown the place where carbon dioxide generated at coalification process had gone.

Guidelines and Resources for Conducting an Environmental Crime Investigation in the United States

Abstract Common environmental crimes in the United States include the illegal disposal of hazardous waste, unpermitted discharges to sewer systems or surface water, discharge of oil by vessels to waters within United States jurisdiction, the misapplication of pesticides, the illegal importation of ozone-depleting substances, data falsification, and laboratory fraud. Federal, state, and sometimes local statutes and regulations are in place to protect the water, air, land, and human health. From a federal perspective, these include the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) for hazardous wastes, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for toxic substances, the Clean Air Act (CAA), the Clean Water Act (CWA), the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) for abandoned waste sites, and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) for pesticides. Each of these laws contains some standard methods for sampling and analyses to prove environmental crimes. The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) contains the specific requirements of the laws. Within the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) of the Office of Criminal Enforcement, Forensics and Training (OCEFT) has the responsibility to investigate criminal offenses. Criminal offenses are more serious in nature than civil violations in the United States. To successfully prosecute an environmental criminal case, the government has to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that a corporation or person knowingly violated an environmental statute containing criminal sanctions. The same environmental forensic techniques used to provide scientifically defensible data prevail in both civil and criminal cases; the only distinction between the two types of cases is legal.

Guest Editorial

Common environmental crimes in the United States include the illegal disposal of hazardous waste, unpermitted discharges to sewer systems or surface water, discharge of oil by vessels to waters within United States jurisdiction, the misapplication of pesticides, the illegal importation of ozone-depleting substances, data falsification, and laboratory fraud. Federal, state, and sometimes local statutes and regulations are in place to protect the water, air, land, and human health. From a federal perspective, these include the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) for hazardous wastes, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for toxic substances, the Clean Air Act (CAA), the Clean Water Act (CWA), the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) for abandoned waste sites, and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) for pesticides. Each of these laws contains some standard methods for sampling and analyses to prove environmental crimes. The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) contains the specific requirements of the laws. Within the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) of the Office of Criminal Enforcement, Forensics and Training (OCEFT) has the responsibility to investigate criminal offenses. Criminal offenses are more serious in nature than civil violations in the United States. To successfully prosecute an environmental criminal case, the government has to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that a corporation or person knowingly violated an environmental statute containing criminal sanctions. The same environmental forensic techniques used to provide scientifically defensible data prevail in both civil and criminal cases; the only distinction between the two types of cases is legal.