Encouraging households to sort more rubbish

Using the Netherlands as a case study, the researchers developed a model to predict changes in the quality of waste streams depending on how much effort householders are willing to put in and recognising that this effort is largely unpaid. After an initial strong positive reaction to recycling policies, Dutch policymakers found it hard to achieve further improvements in recycling rates.

Overall recycling rates in the Netherlands have dropped, from 53.7 per cent of organic waste in 1997 to 49.6 per cent in 2003. However, in areas where local authorities have introduced pricing systems to encourage recycling there has been an increase of 20 per cent in the recycling rate. Similarly, introducing kerbside collections rather than requiring households to take materials to recycling centres increases the chances that the average household will recycle most of its waste by 20 per cent. These examples suggest that there is a limit to how much effort households are willing to put in to separating their waste.

As a result, an important question regarding the design of local waste policies is whether and how to increase the recycled amount beyond the level already provided by households. Possible pricing measures include adding a purchase tax to hazardous good such as paint  thinners and batteries, which is (partly) refunded when properly disposed of at a recycling facility, or a generalised landfill tax on mixed waste that it is not possible to separate. This deposit-refund system not only reduces the incentive for illegal dumping, but also leads to remaining (mixed) waste becoming less toxic and thus reducing the negative environmental effects of landfill and incineration. A tax on the remaining waste stream in order to reduce its amount may also be required.

The authors write that a deposit-refund system provides the best incentive for recycling, the reduction of illegal dumping and the upgrading of the remaining waste stream. However, the amount of tax and subsidies needed to reach optimum levels of recycling depends on the level of dumping that a society will tolerate, as well as the purity of the waste streams that government would like to demand from households.

Different external conditions have to be taken into account in policy development: areas of dense population may make kerbside collections more cost-efficient, but apartment blocks lack space for separate waste containers. There is a natural limit to the amount of recycling effort households are willing to expend; the more complex it is to get rid of separated waste, and the higher the percentage of waste of a given type they already recycle, the less likely households are to invest in further effort. This could explain the levelling off effect seen in The Netherlands and the difficulty in keeping separate waste streams pure.

Source: Aalbers, R and Vollebergh, H. (2008). An economic analysis of mixing wastes. Environmental and Resource Economics. 39 (3): 311-330.

Contact: vollebergh@few.eur.nl

Theme(s): Waste
News Alert Issue 101
April 2008

Opinions expressed in this News Alert do not necessarily reflect those of the European Commission To cite this article/service: "Science for Environment Policy": European Commission DG Environment News Alert Service, edited by SCU, The University of the West of England, Bristol.

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