Waste Management Instruments Research Articles

Municipal solid waste management instruments that influence the use of the refuse as fuel in developing countries: A critical review.

Landfills are the destination of most of the refuse generated whereas composting, material recycling, and Waste-to-Energy (WtE) technologies are not commonly employed in developing countries. However, the destination for energy purposes could be supplied with this refuse, improving the viability of energy use. Thus, this article raises some questions to identify aspects that could encourage its use as refuse-derived fuel (RDF) in these countries. Among them, does environmental education affect the municipal solid waste (MSW) source separation with emphasis on a destination? Can selective collection and extended producer responsibility (EPR) affect the MSW for energy recovery? Is there competition between the recycling market and the energy market for RDF? A systematic review of the literature was conducted to gather data and provide answers to such questions. This enabled to observe that EPR, selective collect expansion and source separation influence the quantity and quality of waste sent for energy use. Both internal and external factors impact on source separation. Additionally, there is evidence to support that despite several studies showing their technical, economic, environmental and social viability, the methods of energy usage of the refuse still need to improve their deployment in developing countries. In addition to identifying the main research gaps to be filled in future studies, the article also identified the instruments of MSW management that are to be applied in developing countries to divert recyclable and organic waste from landfill.

Economic effects of introducing a deposit-return system for packaging in Poland

The introduction of a deposit-return system for certain packaging in Poland, scheduled for 2025 will be a significant change to the system of waste management instruments. The aim of the article is to identify and analyze the economic effects of the introducing such a system, with particular emphasis on plastic beverage bottles. Analysis of the newly introduced regulations, as well as projections based on data on packaging placed on the market and its recycling allowed us to estimate the scale of these effects, in quantitative and monetary terms. We concluded that the introduction of a deposit system in Poland would contribute to achieving the objectives set out in the Single Use Plastic directive; a goal that is unlikely to be met with the current system. This will be done at a lower cost than if the system remained in its current form.

State and regional policy on industrial waste management: the EU experience for Ukraine

Purpose. To identify the main trends caused by the divergence of the policy of Ukraine and the EU in the formation and accumulation of waste and threats to the environment. Methodology. Using the methods of content analysis, quantitative and qualitative comparison, EU policy on waste management is analyzed and logical generalization is used to establish the features of waste management financing for industries and regions. Findings. Regional irregularities of industrial waste accumulation, including hazardous waste, trends of their change are revealed. The reasons for regional peculiarities of waste management in the EU and Ukraine are established. It is established that the distribution of capital investments both in environmental protection in general and in waste management in particular does not always coincide with the leading regions of accumulation. It is established that limitation of financial instruments for waste management only by budgetary resources leads to a reduction in capital investment. A comparison of trends in environmental spending and waste management indicated a significant difference. Analysis of environmental investment by polluting industries, which are unevenly represented in different regions, revealed a significant difference between them. Originality. Regions that are the main polluters have been identified. The discrepancy between trends of capital investments in environmental protection and waste management was revealed. It is established that the list of leading regions in terms of capital investments in environmental protection does not correlate with the list of leading regions of waste accumulation. It is pointed out that uneven investment creates risks of increasing the rate of waste accumulation, in particular hazardous waste. Forecasting of indicators of waste management of the following periods is carried out. Practical value. There are risks of increasing the rate of waste accumulation, especially hazardous waste, both in Ukraine in general and in some regions, inequalities in some areas in the amount of capital investment into environmental protection, which will form an effective waste management policy. Identifying common features and differences in waste management in the EU and Ukraine will allow implementing effective environmental protection tools, reducing risks in industrial waste management.

ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF WASTE MANAGEMENT

This paper provides a brief overview of waste management in Serbia in order to become such a past in the European Union as a result of the obligations arising from the European Waste Land Disposal Directive. This will in practice mean that there is no longer any disposal of untreated waste, and the processing of waste will be paid according to the following price lists, and then the separate collection of waste becomes, in some way, an instrument for reducing the burden on the budget, ie saving from disposal and waste disposal. There is a direct link between the amount of landfill for the landfill and the economic viability of their waste management systems, a new study by the European Institute for Foreign Policy and the needs of the European Commission confirmed. The task of the study was to analyze the use of economic instruments in waste management. considerations used in the development of the ecological system model in order to select the solid waste management process, after which the possibility of using the incineration process is presented. It also provides an overview of the use of waste as fuel, institutional and financial frameworks. A rough estimate was made that about 50% of waste could be burnt with the possibility of obtaining heat and electricity. If about 1,800 kWh of useful energy (thermal and electrical) is obtained per tonne of waste then it is possible to expect about 1,800 kWh / tx 75,000t = 135 MWh of useful energy or an approximate savings effect of about 6,750,000 € per year, calculated with the price of energy from 0.05 € / kWh., Per city in Serbia.

Assessment of economic instruments for countries with low municipal waste management performance: An approach based on the analytic hierarchy process.

Economic instruments provide significant potential for countries with low municipal waste management performance in decreasing landfill rates and increasing recycling rates for municipal waste. In this research, strengths and weaknesses of landfill tax, pay-as-you-throw charging systems, deposit-refund systems and extended producer responsibility schemes are compared, focusing on conditions in countries with low waste management performance. In order to prioritise instruments for implementation in these countries, the analytic hierarchy process is applied using results of a literature review as input for the comparison. The assessment reveals that pay-as-you-throw is the most preferable instrument when utility-related criteria are regarded (wb = 0.35; analytic hierarchy process distributive mode; absolute comparison) mainly owing to its waste prevention effect, closely followed by landfill tax (wb = 0.32). Deposit-refund systems (wb = 0.17) and extended producer responsibility (wb = 0.16) rank third and fourth, with marginal differences owing to their similar nature. When cost-related criteria are additionally included in the comparison, landfill tax seems to provide the highest utility-cost ratio. Data from literature concerning cost (contrary to utility-related criteria) is currently not sufficiently available for a robust ranking according to the utility-cost ratio. In general, the analytic hierarchy process is seen as a suitable method for assessing economic instruments in waste management. Independent from the chosen analytic hierarchy process mode, results provide valuable indications for policy-makers on the application of economic instruments, as well as on their specific strengths and weaknesses. Nevertheless, the instruments need to be put in the country-specific context along with the results of this analytic hierarchy process application before practical decisions are made.

Innovative market-based policy instruments for waste management: A case study on shredder residues in Belgium.

In an increasingly complex waste market, market-based policy instruments, such as disposal taxes, can give incentives for sustainable progress while leaving flexibility for innovation. However, implementation of disposal taxes is often criticised by domestic waste handlers that fear to be outcompeted by competitors in other countries. The article discusses three innovative market-based instruments that limit the impact on international competitiveness: Tradable recycling credits, refunded disposal taxes and differentiated disposal taxes. All three instruments have already been implemented for distinct environmental policies in Europe. In order to illustrate how these instruments can be used for waste policy, the literature review is complemented with a case study on shredder residues from metal-containing waste streams in Belgium. The analysis shows that a conventional disposal tax remains the most efficient, simple and transparent instrument. However, if international competition is a significant issue or if political support is weak, refunded and differentiated disposal taxes can have an added value as second-best instruments. Tradable recycling credits are not an appropriate instrument for use in small waste markets with market power. In addition, refunded taxes create similar incentives, but induce lower transactions costs.

Instrumenty prawne reglamentacji w gospodarce odpadami

In the waste management law the regulation appears as a combination of legal instruments providing the right waste management in accordance with requirements of the environmental law. Within this scope, the regulation means, among other things, the enforcement of imposed obligations of legal subjects participating in waste management. The regulation comes down to the organization of methods regarding waste management by public authorities. The aim of the regulation is to achieve a stable state of waste management by using legal instruments, such as permissions and permits. The main function of all legal instruments of the regulation should be waste prevention. The accomplishment of the preventive function of legal instruments in waste management should be also a result of a complex approach to waste management which takes into account a big waste reduction.

Embedding landfill diversion in economic, geographical and policy settings

We analyse the process of landfill diversion embedding the dynamics in a frame where economic, geographical and policy variables enter the arena. We aim at investigating in depth what main drivers may be responsible for such a phenomenon. We exploit a rich panel dataset covering all the 103 Italian provinces. The case study on Italy is worth being considered provided that Italy is a main country in the EU, thus offering important pieces of information on the evaluation of policies. Evidence shows that the observed decoupling between economic growth and landfilling is driven by a mix of structural factors, as population density and waste management strategies. If on the one hand, the landfill tax is not arising as a significant driver of the phenomenon, other waste management instruments are associated with high significant negative effect on landfilled waste. In association to the features of the tariff system, we also underline the key role played by the share of separated collection in driving down landfilling of waste. Both the evolution of collection and tariff system are joint factors that may drive a wedge between the comparative waste performances of northern and southern regions.

Curbing dioxin emissions from municipal solid waste incineration in China: Re-thinking about management policies and practices

As one of the countries with large amounts of dioxin releases, the control of dioxins is a major challenge for China. Municipal solid waste (MSW) incineration should be considered a high priority source of dioxin emissions because it is playing an increasingly more important role in waste management. MSW incineration in China has much higher emission rates of dioxins than in the developed countries, partially resulting from the gaps in the technologies of incineration and flue gas cleaning. Moreover, the current management policies and practices also contribute significantly to the problem. We recommend lowering dioxin emission standard, strengthening fly ash management, and improving regulation enforcement to reduce dioxin releases into the environment from MSW incineration. We also propose that alternative strategies should be considered on dioxin control and call for an expansion of economic instruments in waste management to reduce waste generation and thus the need for incineration.

Municipal waste generation and the EKC hypothesis new evidence exploiting province-based panel data

This article provides empirical evidence on delinking and Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) for municipal waste generation in Italy. A disaggregated panel data-set on Italian Provinces is exploited. The empirical analysis of different specifications shows a first evidence in favour of an EKC relationship with regard to waste generation. Nevertheless, the turning point (TP) is at very high levels of added value per capita (around 23 000–26 000€), which concern a very limited number of wealthy Northern Italian provinces. Finally, the test on some waste management instruments proxies, leads to the conclusion that they are not yet impacting waste generation. To lower the TPs and to avoid an increasing gap between geographical areas, market based and more effective policy instruments should be implemented. In particular, the weight of waste policies should be rebalanced towards waste prevention targets according to the European waste hierarchy.

The Intercity Landfill of Quissamã-RJ: a reflection on the legal instruments for waste management in small towns

One of the major challenges facing municipalities today is the disposal of urban solid waste. A consortium of municipalities from Northern Rio de Janeiro state region was formed to build a landfill, by the BR-101 road, at Quissamã, RJ. According to state law, the permit process did not require Environmental Impact Studies, and was started with a Simplified Environmental Report. Considering this scenario, this study aimed to evaluate several aspects related to solid waste management in small towns from a case study, considering the hydrographic basin as a territorial-environmental unit for management.

Municipal Waste Generation and Socioeconomic Drivers

Using data sets from Italian provinces that include rich northern and poorer southern regions, this article examines to what extent income and municipal waste generation are linked and at what level of income they become delinked. The analysis shows that the turning point occurs at very high levels of value added per capita (in the range of 22,586 to 31,611), exemplified by a very limited number of wealthy (northern) Italian provinces. The authors also find that some recently adopted waste policy and waste management instruments have influenced waste generation at source, independent of socioeconomic characteristics. This supports the argument that more effective waste management instruments that target waste prevention at the source need to be implemented in line with the stated priorities of the EU and member countries. The findings also imply that developing countries in particular should not wait to implement waste reduction policies until household incomes and consumption levels increase.

Embedding Landfill Diversion in Economic, Geographical and Policy Settings Panel Based Evidence from Italy

This paper analyses the process of delinking for landfilling trends embedding the dynamics in a frame where economic, geographical and policy variables enter the arena We aim at investigating in depth what main drivers may be responsible for such a phenomenon, and whether differences may be observed focusing the lens on a decentralised provincial based setting. We exploit a rich panel dataset stemming from Official sources (APAT, Italian environmental agency) merged with other provincial and regional based information, covering all the 103 Italian provinces over 1999-2005. The case study on Italy is worth being considered given that Italy is a main country in the EU. Thus it offers important pieces on information on the evaluation of policies. Evidence shows that the observed decoupling between economic growth and landfilling is driven by a mix of structural factors, as population density and other waste management opportunity: local opportunity costs and landfill externalities matter in shaping waste policies and local commitment to landfill diversion. But not only structural factors are relevant. If on the one hand landfill taxation is a significant driver of the phenomenon, even at the more coherent regional level, where the tax is implemented, waste management instruments, when we exploit the provincial dataset, are associated to high significant negative effect on landfilled waste. A good performance on managing waste according to economic rationales helps reducing the amount that is landfilled. In association to the features of the tariff system, we also underline the key role played by the share of separated collection. Both the evolution of collection and tariff system are joint factors that may drive a wedge between the comparative waste performances of northern and southern regions. We finally note that lock in effects linked to the intensity of incinerator sites in the area are relevant for landfilling: past investments in incineration lock in the region in this technological path, which may be associated to less opportunity cost and lower external effects. Summing up, landfill diversion is stronger where the economic cost deriving from high population density, a structural factor, are higher, and waste management collection systems and economic instruments are associated with higher performances.

Assessing the effectiveness of voluntary solid waste reduction policies: Methodology and a Flemish case study

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the use of statistical techniques to evaluate the effectiveness of voluntary policy instruments for waste management. The voluntary character of these instruments implies that latent characteristics, unobserved by the analyst, might influence the subscription decision and might lead to biased estimates of the effectiveness of the policy instrument if standard techniques are used. We propose an extension of the difference-in-differences (DiD) estimator to evaluate the effectiveness of voluntary policy instruments, which is termed the dynamic difference-in-differences (or DDD) estimator. We illustrate the technique by estimating the effectiveness of voluntary cooperation agreements between the Flemish environmental administration and individual municipalities aimed at curbing residential solid waste. Using a dataset covering all 308 Flemish municipalities for the period 2000-2005, our results indicate that municipalities subscribing to the agreement accomplished less reduction of their waste levels compared to what could be expected on the basis of their own performance prior to subscription and the performance of the non-subscribers. This result might be explained by the rising marginal cost of extra residential solid waste reduction policies. In addition, there are indications that subscribing municipalities refrain from additional reduction efforts once the target waste level of the program is achieved. The more complicated DDD methodology is shown to generate additional insight over the ordinary DiD analysis.

Assessing the Effectiveness of Voluntary Solid Waste Reduction Policies: Methodology and a Flemish Case Study

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the use of statistical techniques to evaluate the effectiveness of voluntary policy instruments for waste management. The voluntary character of these instruments implies that latent characteristics, unobserved by the analyst, might influence the participation decision and might lead to biased estimates of the effectiveness of the policy instrument if standard techniques are used. We propose an extension of the Difference-in-Differences estimator to evaluate the effectiveness of voluntary policy instruments. We illustrate the technique by estimating the effectiveness of voluntary cooperation agreements between the Flemish environmental administration and individual municipalities. We focus on agreements which aim at curbing residential solid waste. Using a dataset covering all 308 Flemish municipalities for the period 2000-2005, our results indicate that municipalities subscribing to the agreement reduced their waste level by less than what could be expected on the basis of their own performance prior to subscription and the performance of the non-subscribers. This result might be explained by rising marginal cost of extra residential solid waste reduction policies. In addition, there are indications that subscribing municipalities refrain from additional reduction efforts once the target waste level of the program is achieved.

The contribution of environmental management systems to the management of construction and demolition waste: The case of the Autonomous Community of Madrid (Spain)

The construction industry has both positive and negative repercussions on the environment. One of the main negative impacts is the generation of waste. Various types of instruments exist to manage construction and demolition wastes (C&DW). These include voluntary agreements between economic agents, planning, and technological development applied to specific projects. The present state of C&DW management is different in each country and/or region, and is determined by the management instruments used and the degree to which their content has been developed. As elsewhere, the rise of the construction sector in the Community of Madrid in recent years has brought about a notable increase in the generation of C&DW. In order to deal with this situation, the Autonomous Government has initiated several management instruments, including the Plan for Integrated Management of C&DW in the Community of Madrid (2002–2011). At the same time, some construction companies have implemented an environmental management system (EMS) in accordance with ISO Standard 14001, with a view to controlling the main environmental aspects associated with their activities, such as the generation of waste. These companies have established practical measures for the appropriate management of waste generated in their work centres and sites, whether permanent or temporary. This paper presents results of an analysis and evaluation of the application of ISO Standard 14001 to construction sites in the Autonomous Community of Madrid, with specific regard to practices of control and management of wastes generated on site, and to the fulfilment of legislation on waste management. The study aims to detect the deficiencies of EMS and current waste management instruments, and to determine the measures which may be necessary for improvement at all territorial levels (autonomous, national and supranational). In addition, some recommendations are made for promoting management of C&DW based on reuse and recycling in construction companies.

Potential Use of Economic Instruments in Waste Management in the Arab Countries

Changing public behavior towards the environment is considered an essential component in the environmental strategies of all the Arab countries. An important mechanism is using economic instruments (pricing, charges, taxes, and financial incentives) to achieve the desired changes. This article presents potential applications for the use of economic instruments in waste management in the Arab countries. Applications are suggested for implementation in several fields that include wastewater, solid waste, hazardous waste, and agricultural pollution. Examples are presented based on real data from Jordan. In addition, the requirements needed to implement the economic instruments are explained.