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Towards a coherent European approach for taxation of combustible waste
Abstract
Although intra-European trade of combustible waste has grown strongly in the last decade, incineration and landfill taxes remain disparate within Europe. The paper proposes a more coherent taxation approach for Europe that is based on the principle of Pigovian taxation, i.e. the internalization of environmental damage costs. The approach aims to create a level playing field between European regions while reinforcing incentives for sustainable management of combustible waste. Three important policy recommendations emerge. First, integrating waste incineration into the European Emissions Trading System for greenhouse gases (EU ETS) reduces the risk of tax competition between regions. Second, because taxation of every single air pollutant from waste incineration is cumbersome, a differentiated waste incineration tax based on NOx emissions can serve as a second-best instrument. Finally, in order to strengthen incentives for ash treatment, a landfill tax should apply for landfilled incineration residues. An example illustrates the coherence of the policy recommendations for incineration technologies with diverse environmental effects.
... Between 2000 and 2008 employment in waste management and recycling almost doubled to 2 million in the EU-27 (EEA 2011). Whereas waste was considered unwanted in the past and national self-sufficiency in waste management was the dominant paradigm, companies and countries are now often competing to attract waste for recycling (Dubois 2013). ...
... Waste destined for final disposal such as landfilling or incineration still remains a national issue or is at least subject to specific national legislation. On the other hand, no harmonization of policy instruments has occurred within Europe (Bio IS 2012;Dubois 2013). Two relevant policy instruments illustrate the disparity in Europe. ...
... Countries such as the Netherlands and Germany who have a policy of open borders for waste management have zero disposal taxes for incineration and landfilling. Also, because a Norwegian disposal tax for incineration led to high waste exports to Sweden, Norway abolished its disposal tax (Dubois 2013). In order to improve the EPR prevention incentives in an open market, other policy measures than taxes on recycling residues must be considered. ...
During the last decade waste management has been characterized by two main trends: the growth of international trade of waste materials and the introduction of extended producer responsibility (EPR) as a policy instrument. In this paper a two-country stylized model with imperfect competition in the recycling market is used to address two research questions. First, how do EPR recycling targets interact with other policy instruments such as taxes on recycling residues and excise duties? Second, how does strategic behavior of national policy makers influences the use of policy instruments? The model demonstrates that a combination of EPR with other instruments is needed to achieve the first-best outcome. When governments do not coordinate policies across borders, strategic behavior may lead to a ‘race to the bottom’ for taxes on recycling residues. Conversely, strategic behavior may lead to a counter-intuitive ‘race to the top’ for excise duties and EPR recycling targets. It is shown that these instruments are not only used to stimulate waste prevention but also to extract rents from foreign recyclers.
... In order to cut back tax revenue-and renewable energy production-losses from the reduction in waste amounts being incinerated domestically, countries are lowering their tax rates to increase their competiveness. As a result, the potential of the incineration tax to provide incentives for alternative, more sustainable waste management methods is weakened, while the environmental externalities from incineration are under-recognized [109][110][111][112]. An extreme outcome of international waste flows was marked in the case of Norway and Sweden, which both had established incineration taxes. ...
... An extreme outcome of international waste flows was marked in the case of Norway and Sweden, which both had established incineration taxes. In particular, mass waste flows from Norway to Sweden, have led Norway to abolish its incineration tax and, as a response, Sweden did the same immediately after [106,109,113]. To avoid this effect, Flanders imposes incineration taxes to waste exported for incineration as well [109]. ...
... In particular, mass waste flows from Norway to Sweden, have led Norway to abolish its incineration tax and, as a response, Sweden did the same immediately after [106,109,113]. To avoid this effect, Flanders imposes incineration taxes to waste exported for incineration as well [109]. ...
Waste management is increasingly considered one of the most critical environmental challenges on a worldwide basis. Municipal solid waste and packaging waste in specific is an important and growing waste stream. It has been widely recognized that recycling practices and in specific separation at source schemes should be adopted in order to achieve sustainable management of municipal solid waste and efficient resource use. Separation at source provides a promising option with environmental and economic benefits, as it contributes to the recovery of high quality materials with, eventually, cost savings for the waste management authorities. This paper provides a review and evaluation of all instruments, as well as strategies employed in operating waste management schemes at international level. More specifically, nineteen case studies are presented and assessed. Special emphasis was given in those best practice schemes that follow the waste hierarchical approach, namely prevention, preparing for re‐use, recycling, other recovery (e.g. energy recovery), disposal. Additionally, local policies that encourage separate collection at source of at least four waste streams (paper, metal, plastic, glass) were taken under consideration. The factors found to influence recycling performance were the implementation of kerbside waste collection schemes, the provision of economic incentives as well as the use of legal instruments. Furthermore, the level of public awareness and engagement achieved, the population size as well as the duration of the implementation of the scheme were also found to influence the effectiveness of the applied schemes.
... First, virgin material tax rates are typically too low to stimulate recycling from waste products. Other instruments such as disposal taxes or deposit refunds are needed (see Dijkgraaf and Vollebergh (2004) and Dubois (2013) for a discussion of current disposal taxes for landfilling and incineration in Western Europe). Second, the tax can reduce the overall volume extracted but does not give incentives to reduce extraction externalities such as air and water pollution or waste generation. ...
... Anecdotal evidence suggests that the risk for a downward tax spiral is present in Europe. For example, Sweden and Norway first installed an incineration tax in an open border system but abolished it in 2010 due to international waste shipments (Bjorklund and Finnveden, 2007;Dubois, 2013). ...
In order to stimulate recycling, a clever mix of policy instruments is needed because of the interacting external effects, the possibility of illegal disposal and imperfectly competitive markets. This chapter focuses on economic instruments like recycled content standards, taxes on virgin materials, waste disposal fees, recycling subsidies, deposit-refund or extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes and tradable recycling certificates. The literature offers support for the implementation of EPR even though this instrument has disadvantages such as transaction costs and static targets. Other instruments such as virgin material taxes and disposal fees should be used with care. Although they have proven their effectiveness in the past, they can lead to unintended side effects such as illegal disposal and pollution displacement. Little motivation has been found to use economic instruments to alleviate material scarcity. Rather, economic instruments should be used primarily to limit environmental damage in the extraction, production and waste treatment phase.
... Most importantly, the evaluation of needs for incineration capacity can now be assessed at the European level, as non-hazardous combustible waste can be traded between countries more freely. As a result, shipments of combustible waste from countries with treatment under-capacity towards countries with treatment over-capacity have increased significantly in the last few years and are expected to continue increasing, especially if fuelled by favourable economic conditions created by national authorities (e.g. the UK) (Dubois, 2013). A few countries are even adjusting their national strategies to facilitate waste imports, such as the Netherlands and Sweden (Ringstrom, 2012;Vos, 2012). ...
... Another concern is the impact of transporting the waste. On the other hand, studies such as Dubois (2013) and Sundberg and Bisaillon (2011) suggest that based on previous experience with liberalization of international trade in recyclable waste streams, the more recent and controversial trade in combustible waste has the potential to bring significant societal benefits. Although the topics of WtE overcapacities and combustible waste shipments in Europe have been discussed for some time, their associated environmental implications and connection to waste management system changes, have not been addressed in scientific literature to date. ...
... Local markets for combustible waste in Europe are gradually opening up, and a liberalization of trade in products, such as paper and plastics, has created a thriving international market that valorizes secondary resources and improves the treatment efficiency [7]; Life cycle assessment has become an important issue for products and services, since environmental concerns become increasingly decisive for the admission to markets as well as customer's decisions [5]. ...
... This market is closed for competitors with weak environmental performance, as cost-effectiveness itself does not represent a competitive advantage here. After the selection of a price from the catalogue and the discussion with the management about the potential demand referring to the modeled price, we set up an inverse demand function (8) from the demand function (7). The coefficients of the function were obtained using regression analysis. ...
Mankind is highly dependent upon fossil fuels for its ever-increasing energy demands. The future supply is unreliable mainly due to the fact that it is a finite resource which is becoming more and more expensive to produce. As a reaction to this current threat and uncertainty, a mathematical model is developed in this study in order to identify more sustainable quantities. The main objective of this study was to provide companies with a tool to assist in the prevention of overproduction, in other words, to minimize unsalable production quantities and to preserve natural resources.
Regression analysis, game theory - Cournot game.
The study was carried out in cooperation with the Italian company PintInox, S. p. A., located in the Italian region of Lombardia. After the implementation of sustainability measurement metrics into the company's processes and the discovery of a profitable market niche (market principles applying value to sustainable development) for PintInox, S. p. A., a natural grouping (oligopoly) of Italian cutlery producers was identified. Entrance barriers posed by this group (oligopoly) are all kinds of inabilities to prove a verifiable concept of their Corporate Social Responsibility practices. Companies that failed to communicate their commitment regarding sustainable development to their business-to-business (B2B) partners cannot enter this oligopoly and are, consequently, excluded from markets placing value on sustainability principles. Based on economic effectiveness, the marketable output of every oligopoly member was calculated.
The desire to preserve natural resources is driven by incentives within the marketplace. These incentives were identified through the game theory. The companies firstly concentrate themselves on social responsibility and environmental safety and then, as oligopoly members, on economic effectiveness. The study reconfirms that also the economic dimension plays an important role in a ‘triple bottom line’ philosophy.
... Also, it is prohibited due to the laws and regulations connected to CE infrastructures in some European countries like Germany because of material and energy losses [44]. In other countries, including Belgium, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom [54], governments require high taxes for such disposal techniques to avoid them [44,55]. For instance, the "Flemish Landfill Tax" was introduced in the 1990s in Belgium to discourage waste landfilling and incineration and promote more ecofriendly practices to handle waste and recycle scrap materials. ...
The 2020 targets for sustainable development and circular economy encourage global leaders and countries to legislate laws and policies on several critical hot topics to prevent further global warming: (1) the increased utilization of renewable electrical power (wind turbine implants, as an example); (2) waste transformation into high-added-value materials based on the European Green Deal for energy transition; and (3) material and energy recovery and circularity. Accordingly, scholars and researchers have predicted that, hopefully, installed wind power capacity is going to increase dramatically by 2050. However, our ecosystem will have to face and deal with an enormous amount of decommissioned turbine blades. The disposal of these wastes via conventional methods could not only raise the possibility of microplastic formation, but could also boost the probability of environmental issues such as air pollution, soil, water contamination, etc. Moreover, these hazards will endanger wildlife and humans. As a result, the waste management of these retired blades composed of multi-lateral composite materials through a sustainable, effective, and feasible single/or hybrid process is necessary. This review aims to summarize all of the information about turbines, introduce all the various recycling pathways used for their blades, and provide a comparative analysis of these methods as well. In addition, the paper defines the possibility of microplastic formation from this waste (especially end-of-life turbine blade scraps), points out potential risks for the Earth, and suggests actions to inhibit their build-up and to keep the environment safe.
... Met een emissiefactor van 111 kton CO2/PJ, een stookwaarde van 10 GJ/ton voor afval en een hernieuwbare fractie van 47,78%, bedraagt de omrekeningsfactor tussen de afvalinput en de fossiele CO2-output 0,58 (ton fossiele CO2/ton afval). (Dubois, 2013;Nilsson et al., 2005;Sahlin et al., 2007;Vanderreydt & Van Opstal, 2021) en liggen in lijn met de studie van CE Delft over de implementatie van EU-ETS voor afvalverbranding (Warringa, 2021). ...
In voorliggende studie werd onderzocht wat de impact, mogelijkheden en beperkingen voor Vlaanderen zijn van het invoeren van EU-ETS voor verbrandingsinstallaties voor stedelijk afval in Europa, en hoe en in welke mate, de
invoering van EU-ETS al dan niet kan bijdragen aan de realisatie van de doelstellingen van het Vlaamse afval- en materialenbeleid en van het Vlaamse klimaatbeleid.
... Daarnaast geven we een theoretische inschatting van de opbrengsten, exclusief administratieve kosten en flankerende maatregelen. (Dubois, 2013;Nilsson et al., 2005;Sahlin et al., 2007). Bron: OVAM, De Weerdt et al. (2020), berekeningen VITO ...
Vlaanderen kent al enkele decennia een heffing op het storten en verbranden van restafval. Deze heffing wordt betaald door uitbaters van stortplaatsen en verbrandingsinstallaties en is een economisch beleidsinstrument dat als doel heeft om er mee voor te zorgen om afvalproductie- en verwerking in een meer milieuvriendelijke richting te begeleiden en om loutere energievalorisatie duurder te maken dan recyclage, en dus om meer afvalfracties selectief in te zamelen en te recycleren, en om afval te voorkomen.
Er loopt al jaren een discussie over (te) goedkope tarieven voor afvalverbranding die meer selectieve inzameling zouden verhinderen. Het verhogen van de verbrandingsheffing is daarom een mogelijkheid om vanuit het beleid de balans meer in het voordeel van selectieve inzameling (en recyclage) bij te sturen en een driver te creëren voor investeringen in bijkomende recyclage-activiteiten. Hoe een eventuele verhoging van de verbrandingsheffing bijdraagt aan meer selectieve inzameling van afvalstoffen die nu nog in het restafval terechtkomen, is dan ook de onderzoeksvraag die voorligt.
De doelstelling van de voorliggende opdracht is enerzijds een zicht krijgen op de kostenstructuur van verschillende alternatieven voor afvalverwerking en anderzijds onderzoeken welke impacts een verhoging van de verbrandingsheffing met zich zal meebrengen. Daarbij vergelijken we ook de voor- en nadelen van een éénmalige versus een stapsgewijze verhoging van de verbrandingsheffing. De scope van het onderzoek heeft betrekking op het restafval dat in Vlaanderen wordt aangeboden voor verbranding, dus zowel bedrijfsrestafval als huishoudelijk restafval, en op de selectieve inzameling van de fracties Groenten- Fruit- en Tuinafval (GFT) (of Organisch Biologisch Afval, OBA), kunststof verpakkingen en luiers.
We onderzochten de impact van een verhoogde verbrandingsheffing vanuit verschillende perspectieven, namelijk de afvalproducenten (gezinnen en bedrijven) en de afvalophalers en -verwerkers (afvalintercommunales en spelers op de private markt). Telkens kwamen daarbij belemmerende en versterkende factoren aan het licht die de impact van een (verhoogde) verbrandingsheffing mee bepalen.
... At first glance, trade of combustible waste appears to be a simple match of waste diverted from landfill in some countries and spare incineration capacity in others. But actual quantities exported depend on alternative costs levels, including waste-related taxes, thus reflecting local political priorities (Sahlin, 2013;Olofsson et al., 2005;Dubois, 2013). Accordingly, a correlation between export and landfill-tax levels has been observed in England, where export of combustible waste has become cheaper than domestic landfilling when the landfill tax surpassed 50 £/t, and WtE facilities were setting their gate fee at a level to undercut the landfill route after considering processing and shipping costs, ranging from 33 £/t in Netherlands to 61 £/t in Germany (UK Environment Agency, 2015;Brown, 2016). ...
This study analyses the socio-economic value of trade of combustible waste, taking Denmark as an example for importing countries with large district heating networks and already high shares of variable renewable energy. An integrated systems analysis framework allowed to assess under which circumstances import of wastes leads to less expensive waste management and energy, accounting for increasing ambitions for a circular economy and renewable energy. The dynamics of both systems are captured
through two optimization models, which are solved simultaneously. OptiFlow optimizes Danish waste management and transport, and Balmorel, the Northern European energy system. Results show that waste import to cover the existing Danish incineration overcapacity during wintertime has definite economic value. Conversely, summertime import can have negative value unless a gate fee is received, with the exception of imports of waste with high calorific content (>16.2 GJ/t). In some cases, mothballing of up to 14% of the existing incineration plants is a cost-efficient alternative to decrease the level of over-capacity. In the longer term, results show a socio-economic value of importing waste, being mainly sensitive to assumptions regarding biomass prices and wind power cost, as the technologies would compete with incineration plants. The present methodology can be applied to other countries where waste-to-energy participates in district heating, and where variable renewable electricity and constraints on biomass resources are becoming important. A pan-regional approach regarding waste management planning to maximize the value from combustible waste might be desired, along with a coherent taxation to avoid competition based on tax differences.
... Showing a parallel to recycling infrastructure development (Dubois, 2013), an integrated approach to Europe's goals for circular economy, climate impact mitigation and decreased dependency of nonrenewable fuels might justify locating the union's energy recovery from waste in countries where high economic and environmental values can be achieved. ...
This work addressed the role of waste-to-energy (WtE) within the growing paradigm of the circular economy (CE), by combining long-term co-optimization of waste management and energy systems, to determine possible economic and climate impact consequences of future WtE capacity utilization. Co-optimization was realized by integration of a network optimization model for the waste sector, OptiFlow, with the partial equilibrium energy systems model Balmorel. The modelling framework allows to determine the effects of waste-derived energy production within energy systems, including induced and avoided energy (production and long-term investments). The article documents the application of this framework to an analysis of waste trade for WtE between European countries in the base year 2014 and prospectively until 2035, taking Denmark as example for an importing country. Results indicating present and long-term economic benefits for waste trade, under socio-economic conditions, were documented in a concurrent publication. Here, a broader consequential LCA approach was employed to appraise climate change impact potential in a variety of foreground and background conditions. We find that in 2014, trade of residual combustible waste was mostly beneficial from a climate perspective, as the Danish energy system still relies partly on fossil fuels. Towards 2035, climate advantages are uncertain and dependent on avoidance of higher impact waste management (i.e. sanitary landfilling), the differences in the energy carbon-intensity of importing and exporting countries, impact of global biomass supply, and the type and quantity of traded waste. In general, benefits from waste-derived energy production will be offset by direct combustion emissions as background systems decarbonize. Waste transport played only a minor role in the outcome. The study showcases integration of ESA in waste LCA to better account for affected (often referred as marginal) energy production.
... Tämän vuoksi Komissio on ympäristöperusteista verotusta unionissa käsitelleessä raportissaan (2016, 248) suositellut, että Suomessa otettaisiin käyttöön jätteenpolton vero kierrätystä, uudelleenkäyttöä ja jätteen synnyn ehkäisyä vauhdittamaan. Nykyisin jätteen poltto jätevoimaloissa ei kuulu päästökauppajärjestelmän piiriin, joten veroa voisi perustella myös hiilidioksidipäästöjen rajoittamisella (Dubois 2013). Tämän mukaan määräytyvä vero ei kuitenkaan Viinikan (2015) laskelmien mukaan olisi riittävä, vaan veron poltettavalle jätteelle tulisi olla "nykyistä jäteveroa vastaavalla veron tasolla" 3 parantaakseen riittävästi materiaalina hyödyntämisen suhteellista asemaa. ...
... The external approach is more regulation-oriented mainly because of the new preference for economic instruments design and deploys, although the strong criticism. The method fundamentals are the social profit, polluter pays principle, market failure, and others environmental economics concepts (Oliveira and Rosa 2003;Carvalho et al. 2012;Dubois 2013;Maier and Oliveira 2014;MacKenzie and Ohndorf 2016). The main instruments-standards, Pigouvian taxes, subsidies and tradable permits, are deemed complex and hard to fine tune (Baumol and Oats 1988;Pearce and Turner 1989). ...
Design of efficient solid waste management (SWM) systems requires accurate estimates of waste generation rates. Waste generation rates can be measured by direct sampling and several methods like database mining and sample surveys have been used in different locations. Another approach is to use different types of models to predict or forecast waste generation rates based on knowledge of impacting factors. These models include statistical models like multiple linear regression, econometric models, system dynamics methods, time-series analysis, factor analysis and Geographical Information Systems (GIS)-based methods. More non-conventional methods like artificial neural networks (ANN), fuzzy logic (FL) and support vector machine (SVM) methods are becoming popular. A brief literature review of these methods used by researchers for forecasting solid waste generation rates is provided in this chapter.
... Comparing Flanders with other European countries, we find a wide variety of diverging taxation rates with Flanders belonging to those regions that apply the highest rates. As Europe is moving towards an open market for waste management, calls are made to harmonise waste policies across borders (Dubois, 2013a(Dubois, , 2013b. Considering that several front runners in waste management, including Flanders, have high landfill taxes, the arguments for high and harmonised landfill taxes in Europe seem strong. ...
Both landfill taxes and Enhanced Waste Management (EWM) practices can mitigate the scarcity issue of landfill capacity by respectively reducing landfilled waste volumes and valorising future waste streams. However, high landfill taxes might erode incentives for EWM, even though EWM creates value by valorising waste. Concentrating on Flanders (Belgium), the paper applies dynamic optimisation modelling techniques to analyse how landfill taxation and EWM can reinforce each other and how taxation schemes can be adjusted in order to foster sustainable and welfare maximising ways of processing future waste streams. Based on the Flemish simulation results, insights are offered that are generally applicable in international waste and resource management policy. As shown, the optimal Flemish landfill tax that optimises welfare in the no EWM scenario is higher than the one in the EWM scenario (93 against €50/ton). This difference should create incentives for applying EWM and is driven by the positive external effects that are generated by EWM practices. In Flanders, as the current landfill tax is slightly lower than these optimal levels, the choice that can be made is to further increase taxation levels or show complete commitment to EWM. A first generally applicable insight that was found points to the fact that it is not necessarily the case that the higher the landfill tax, the more effective waste management improvements can be realised. Other insights are about providing sufficient incentives for applying EMW practices and formulating appropriate pleas in support of technological development. By these insights, this paper should provide relevant information that can assist in triggering the transition towards a resource-efficient, circular economy in Europe.
... Brussels has no treatment facilities for disposal of shredder residues. An overview of European taxes can be found in BIO IS (2012) and Dubois (2013). ...
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.
... Opening new extraction locations in zones destined for habitation or nature is unlikely which will ultimately drive up prices of these primary resources (Grindcomité 2011). In addition, policy makers increasingly use economic instruments, such as the European Emission Trading Scheme for greenhouse gases (EU ETS), to stimulate sustainable industrial activities (Tietenberg and Lewi 2010;Dubois 2013). Carbon emissions therefore become part of economic competition. ...
State-of-the-art technologies that implement theindustrial ecology concept only make it to the market if environmental gains and economic benefits are significant. Therefore, the article investigates, in an interdisciplinary way, two innovative technologies that valorize stainless steel (SS) slags as block masonry (bricks): carbonation and thermo-alkali-activation. The technical, environmental, and economic features of three SS bricks—solid bricks, perforated bricks, and lightweight aerated blocks—are compared to commercially available construction materials. Although the produced bricks meet industrial standards, technical challenges, such as optimization of alkali addition and use of metal molds, should be dealt with before upscaling to industrial production. A cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment that aggregates the results of the various impact categories shows that the environmental impact of solid and perforated SS bricks is lower than the impact of conventional clay-baked bricks owing to the avoidance of additives for slag stabilization and energy consumption for sintering clay. The impact of aerated SS bricks was found to be similar to the commercially available aerated blocks. More specifically, the carbon dioxide uptake from carbonation reduces the overall environmental impact, whereas use of alkalis increases the impact. A strengths weaknesses opportunity threats analysis highlights the economic advantages of SS bricks originating from lower energy requirements, reduced dependence on primary resources, and improved metal recovery from slag. However, in order to apply the innovative technologies at industrial scale, challenges related to processing conditions, feedstock variability, and potential competition from existing brick suppliers have to be overcome.
... Policy makers could implement these indicator results in the legislation of subsidies and taxes for plastic waste management. A possible option is a refunded tax, which uses the revenues of disposal taxes to subsidize closed-loop recycling, whereas the open-loop recycling remains unaffected (Dubois, 2013). Therefore, the government can stimulate companies to select one waste treatment over another. ...
Over the last few years, waste management strategies are shifting from waste disposal to recycling and recovery and are considering waste as a potential new resource. To monitor the progress in these waste management strategies, governmental policies have developed a wide range of indicators. In this study, we analyzed the concept of the recyclability benefit rate indicator, which expresses the potential environmental savings that can be achieved from recycling the product over the environmental burdens of virgin production followed by disposal. This indicator is therefore, based on estimated environmental impact values obtained through Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) practices. We quantify the environmental impact in terms of resource consumption using the Cumulative Exergy Extraction from the Natural Environment method. This research applied this indicator to two cases of plastic waste recycling in Flanders: closed-loop recycling (case A) and open-loop recycling (case B). Each case is compared to an incineration scenario and a landfilling scenario. The considered plastic waste originates from small domestic appliances and household waste other than plastic bottles. However, the existing recyclability benefit rate indicator does not consider the potential substitution of different materials occurring in open-loop recycling. To address this issue, we further developed the indicator for open-loop recycling and cascaded use. Overall, the results show that both closed-loop and open-loop recycling are more resource efficient than landfilling and incineration with energy recovery.
... To prevent gasification from diverting waste away from recycling, strict legislation mandating recycling, not unlike San Francisco's Mandatory Recycling and Composting Ordinance [42], may be necessary. Alternatively, a gasification tax, similar to an incineration tax, may be considered though such a tax is likely to be ineffective if cross-border transport of waste is not controlled to prevent the channeling of waste to incinerators or gasifiers in other jurisdictions with lower or zero tax rates [43,44]. ...
Worldwide, bioenergy production is increasing. However, there is still a lack of understanding of the types of infrastructural modifications necessary to support further bioenergy development in ways that are both cost effective and environmentally sustainable. This paper provides an overview of the infrastructure support crucial for enabling large-scale bioenergy production in cities. Three waste-to-bioenergy pathways to produce biodiesel from waste oils, syngas from plasma gasification of municipal solid waste (MSW), and bioenergy from algae are reviewed. (i) To produce biodiesel from waste oils, a cost-effective feedstock collection system is key as feedstock cost, including transportation cost, is the single largest contributor to total cost. (ii) To promote the production of syngas from MSW by plasma gasification, a decentralized approach is recommended in the near to medium term. This is because at present, there is still little experience operating large MSW plasma gasification plants. A decentralized approach creates opportunities for public-private partnerships, leading to investments to gain operational experience. Soft infrastructure in the form of a well-developed recycling program or legislation is also necessary to ensure the gasification does not compete with recycling for recyclables. (iii) To produce bioenergy from algae, two infrastructures are vital. The first is infrastructure to integrate wastewater treatment and algae cultivation with nutrients and carbon dioxide recycling. The second is infrastructure to create large surface areas from sides of buildings and/or rooftops that are well exposed to sunlight for algae growth. Provided these infrastructures are in place, the three pathways, combined, have the potential to supply up to 12–16 % of Hong Kong’s electricity demand if converting the energy products from the pathways to electricity. Further, the pathways create new interdependencies between the waste and energy sectors. The interdependencies, while synergistic, could lead to new vulnerabilities such that a failure of one sector will cause a failure in the other as well. Care must be taken when designing systems to minimize this.
Sustainable management of industrial plastic waste is crucial in the transition to a circular economy. Today, most industrial plastic waste is incinerated, whereas it could be recycled. As a consequence, governments increasingly make use of incineration taxes to improve current waste management practices. This paper presents an econometric panel analysis that studies the effects of an incineration tax on industrial plastic waste in Flanders (Belgium). Not only is this study the first econometric analysis on industrial plastic waste management in which firm heterogeneity is explicitly taken into account by including firm-specific characteristics, but this study also provides policymakers with insights into the effectiveness of an incineration tax to change current waste management practices. Empirical estimates imply that heterogeneous firms generate industrial plastic waste in different ways and that heterogeneous firms reduce their waste generation in different ways after the incineration tax rate increases. The estimates also show that the unique decrease of the incineration tax in 2007, did not change waste management practices. These estimates show that firms do not disinvest or indicate that loss aversion theory, i.e. a preference for avoiding losses over acquiring equivalent gains, might apply to firms that are faced with environmental taxation in a waste management context.
As an important recyclable and reusable resource, waste paper is traded in millions of dollars around the world every year. Global waste paper trade not only addresses resource scarcity issues, alleviates environmental pressures and brings substantial economic gains, but also contributes to the development of global circular economy. Using complex network methods, bilateral waste paper trade data, and temporal exponential random graph models (TERGM), we construct global waste paper trade networks (GWPTNs) during 2000–2018, and examine their structural evolution and determinants. We report that: (I) GWPTNs display obvious features of small-world network, low reciprocity, heterogeneity and disassortativity; (II) Asia is the leading recipient of global waste paper, while Europe and North America are the main exporters; (III) China and India dominate the waste paper import markets while the United States is the largest exporter, and Germany plays an essential role in both importing and exporting hubs of waste paper; (IV) The evolution of the GWPTNs is significantly influenced by endogenous reciprocity, transitivity and preferential attachment, and economies with more partners or within the same continents are more likely to trade waste paper. Economies with higher urbanization rates, more per capita income, stricter environmental regulation, or lower industrialization rates are more likely to export waste paper; conversely, they are more likely to be the importers. Economy-pairs sharing a language or religion, being a former colony of the same colonizer, historical colonial relationship or a border, or signing regional trade agreements are more likely to trade waste paper.
Considering the high demand volatility, short shelf life and sales period of perishable goods, it is necessary to analyze the application of multi-period distribution in closed-loop supply chain network (CLSC) system. At the same time, considering the environmental pollution caused by improper handling, sales and reputation loss caused by untimely delivery, uncertain demand and recovery of perishable goods in different periods, a mixed integer programming (MIP) model and its corresponding robust optimization model of multi-period and multi-objective CLSC network for perishable goods are established aiming at the minimum environmental impact, the minimum economic cost and the maximum on-time delivery rate. The validity and feasibility of robust optimization model were verified by a hybrid heuristic algorithm with a case study of cross-region CLSC network covering cities of Shanghai, Suzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou, Jiaxing and Huzhou in Eastern China. The numerical results show that, compared with the single period system, the multi-period system has the advantages of good dynamic performance and low system cost, and the multi-objective optimization is better than the single-objective optimization on the whole; meanwhile, the importance of uncertain factors in the decision-making of robust optimization model is verified. This research provides important managerial insights about network design and optimal operation of CLSC for perishable goods under uncertainty.
Evidence shows that China’s implementation of waste import restriction since the beginning of 2018 provoked the waste import surge of other Asian countries. In order to avoid being the new “pollution haven” of the “North”, many Asian countries started to follow China’s waste import restriction policy (WIRP). WIRP has great impact on the world waste trade network, however, whether it mitigate environment pollution of these countries has not been answered. The objective of this research is to investigate the impact of WIRP on CO2 emission. Using time-varying Difference-in-Difference (DID) model and seasonal data from 2015 to 2019, we find that WIRP in Asian countries has significant effects on CO2 emission embodied in four major categories of waste import. Moreover, the marginal effect of WIRP is increasing. Through the analysis of mediation effects, it is concluded that policy act on the reduction of CO2 emission through three decomposition channels, namely, economic scale, technological improvement, and structural change. The results are robust using the Difference in Difference in Difference model. This finding suggests trade policy on restricting waste import has great impact on world environmental pollution.
In this chapter, we discuss the main policy to waste management destination, considering the immediate sanitation concern in developing countries. From the analysis of literature and many waste management projects presented for United Nation registration as clean development mechanism (CDM), we draw some deductions. Because of the regulatory shortcomings and pitfalls; landfill sites configuration from aerobic unmanaged to anaerobic managed; poor administrative activity; and the increase of costs and the capital shortage, the change can lead to a greater overall GHG emission. Thus, the recent studies and the world reports about this issue indicate the regulatory environment as the first bottleneck to be aware of to alleviate the initiatives barriers
The push for creating a more competitive and liberalized system for traditional public services, including waste management, has been on the European agenda since the late 1980s. In 2008, changes were made in EU waste legislation allowing source-separated industrial/commercial waste that is suitable for incineration to be traded within the European market. This change has had broad implications for the Danish waste sector, which is characterized by institutionalized municipal control with all streams of waste and municipal ownership of the major treatment facilities allowing the municipal sector to integrate combustible waste in local heat and power generation. This article, applying an institutional approach, maps the institutions and actors of the Danish waste sector and analyses how the regulatory as well as normative pressure to liberalize has been met and partly neutralized in the institutional and political context. The new Danish regulation of 2010 has thus accommodated the specific requirement for liberalization, but in fact only represents a very small step towards a market-based waste management system. On the one hand, by only liberalizing industrial/commercial waste, the Danish Government chose to retain the main features of the established waste system favouring municipal control and hence the institutionalized principles of decentralized enforcement of environmental legislation as well as welfare state considerations. On the other hand, this has led to a technological and financial deadlock, particularly when it comes to reaching the recycling targets of EU, which calls for further adjustments of the Danish waste sector.
The dust generated from a dry discharge ash handling system at a waste to energy (WtE) facility has been processed and sintered to produce ceramic samples. Preliminary cell culture studies have been completed to assess the potential cytotoxicity of the IBA ceramics prepared from dry discharge dust. The tests have used mouse embryonic fibroblast (MEF) cells. Results indicate inhibition of cell adhesion by the IBA ceramic surface. However the samples were covered by cells and these expressed similar behaviour in the context of morphology and vitality to control cells on glass samples. The work demonstrates that fine IBA dust from dry discharge systems can be formed into ceramics and that biocompatibility testing has an important role in defining potential suitability for use of these types of waste-derived ceramics.
International trade in hazardous and nonhazardous waste and scrap products has been growing at an exceptional rate the past two decades. This review presents current data on the magnitude and trends regarding this growth and discusses the recent literature as it pertains to the economic incentives and drivers of international waste trade. Differences in environmental policy, taxes, disposal fees, and transport costs are important determinants across countries. However, the illegal nature of many types of hazardous waste also means that organized crime may play a role in some countries. Gaps in our understanding regarding microeconomic incentives as they relate to upstream and downstream recyclers and to the social welfare implications for wages, environmental quality, and human health are also discussed.
In this contribution the intrinsic potential of Selective Non-Catalytic Reduction (SNCR) for Nitrogen Oxide (NO x) control in Waste-to-Energy plants is explored in three case studies. In the first case study, the SNCR performance at the ISVAG Waste-to-Energy plant is mapped. NO x-removal efficiency, urea consumption and ammonia slip were monitored for different NO x-setpoints. The ammonia mass balance was established by monitoring the ammonia slip at boiler exit and behind each Air Pollution Control (APC) unit. It was cross-checked by analysing the product streams exiting these different units. In a second case study, an assessment is done of the influence of Flue Gas Recirculation (FGR) as a NO x preventing measure. The third case study reports of a retrofit experience showing the importance of adequate SNCR design.
Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions related to recycling of metals in post-consumer waste are assessed from a waste management perspective; here the material recovery facility (MRF), for the sorting of the recovered metal. The GHG accounting includes indirect upstream emissions, direct activities at the MRF as well as indirect downstream activities in terms of reprocessing of the metal scrap and savings in terms of avoided production of virgin metal. The global warming factor (GWF) shows that upstream activities and the MRF causes negligible GHG emissions (12.8 to 52.6 kg CO(2)-equivalents tonne(-1) recovered metal) compared to the reprocessing of the metal itself (360-1260 kg CO(2)-equivalents tonne(-1) of recovered aluminium and 400- 1020 kg CO(2)-equivalents tonne(- 1) of recovered steel).The reprocessing is however counterbalanced by large savings of avoided virgin production of steel and aluminium. The net downstream savings were found to be 5040-19 340 kg CO(2)-equivalents tonne(-1) of treated aluminium and 560-2360 kg CO(2)-equivalents tonne(-1) of treated steel. Due to the huge differences in reported data it is hard to compare general data on the recovery of metal scrap as they are very dependent on the technology and data choices. Furthermore, the energy used in both the recovery process as well as the avoided primary production is crucial. The range of avoided impact shows that recovery of metals will always be beneficial over primary production, due to the high energy savings, and that the GHG emissions associated with the sorting of metals are negligible.
In this paper we do an ex post evaluation of the French tax on air pollution. The revenues of this tax were redistributed to polluters in the form of subsidies to abatement technologies, and the policy is a typical example of an earmarked tax. We use a two-stage estimation procedure on an unbalanced panel data set of 226 plants from three industrial sectors that are some of the main contributors to nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide emissions. The results indicate that the overall environmental effectiveness of this particular tax/ subsidy scheme can be questioned.
The primary objective of this study was to assist waste management researchers, decision-makers and waste managers at national, regional and local levels, in their decision-making processes, with most recent valuations on the environmental and social costs of externalities associated with various pollutants and disamenities related to landfilling and incineration of municipal solid waste. The aim was achieved by mapping, gathering, analysing, comparing and synthesizing various valuation estimates, based on a thorough review of existing literature. This study provides the first comprehensive review and analysis focused on primary and secondary valuation studies, conducted since 1990. The second objective was to assess the appropriateness and reliability of the valuation methods and techniques that were performed in the reviewed studies. The results of the review are summarized in tables, organized by topics and units of measure and in addition a classified list that describes the profile of the reviewed studies is provided. The results are then analysed and compared, and recommended ranges of the values are presented. The study reveals inconsistency in part of the estimates across the reviewed studies and provides reasonable explanations for the variations. Given the nature of uncertainty, and the difficulties associated with transferring values among different places and cases, these values should be considered mostly as an indication for the order of magnitude of the externalities. Nevertheless, these essential estimates of the external costs can beneficially be used with proper adjustment for each individual case to address important policy questions regarding landfilling and incineration of waste.
The methodology for evaluating the impacts and damage costs ('external costs') due to pollution from waste treatment is described and the results are presented, based on the ExternE project series of the European Commission. The damage costs of landfill and incineration of municipal solid waste are compared, with due account for energy and materials recovery, as well as possible differences in transport distance. We have not been able to quantify the total damage costs of leachates because of the complexity of the environmental pathways and of the long time horizon of some persistent pollutants, but we consider an extreme scenario to show that they are not worth worrying about in the sense that reducing the pollutants in leachates beyond current regulations would bring negligible benefit in comparison with the abatement of other sources of the same pollutants. The damage costs due to the construction of the waste treatment facility are negligible. The damage costs of waste transport, which are illustrated by an arbitrary choice of a 100 km round trip by a 16 tonne truck, are also negligible. The benefits of materials recovery make a small contribution to the total damage cost. The only significant contributions come from direct emissions (of the landfill or incinerator) and from avoided emissions due to energy recovery (from an incinerator). Damage costs for incineration range from about 4 to 21 EUR tonne waste(-1), and they are extremely dependent on the assumed scenario for energy recovery. For landfill the cost ranges from about 10 to 13 EUR tonne waste(-1); it is dominated by greenhouse gas emissions because only a fraction of the CH4 can be captured (here assumed to be 70%). Amenity costs (odour, visual impact, noise) are highly site-specific and we only cite results from a literature survey which indicates that such costs could make a significant contribution, very roughly on the order of 1 EUR tonne waste(-1).
This article compares tradable permits with tradable credits, two distinct economic instruments of environmental policy. It is demonstrated that under credit trading, which is an addition to (relative) emission standards, residual emissions are free of cost. Under permit trading (cap-and-trade), residual emissions always have a cost. The economic consequences of this difference are surveyed and analyzed with regard to various issues, including economic efficiency, political acceptance, incentives for adopting clean technologies, and incentives for legal compliance. The review concludes that permit trading is less costly to society than credit trading, but imperfect markets for output may change this ranking. The article reveals several gaps in the literature and formulates some new hypotheses for future research.
This paper argues that imperfect competition in global markets creates a strategic interaction between governments that can lead to the inefficient distortion of pollution taxes. This distortion can be decomposed into a rent capture effect and a pollution-shifting effect. The rent capture effect lowers equilibrium taxes as each country attempts to gain a competitive advantage over its trading partner and thereby capture foreign rent through net exports. The pollution-shifting effect raises equilibrium taxes as each country attempts to transfer production and its associated pollution to the other country. This effect vanishes if pollution is perfectly transboundary because shifted pollution causes as much damage to the domestic environment as does domestic pollution. The net effect on symmetric equilibrium taxes is negative, except in the special case of perfect competition with no transboundary pollution. In this case the two effects are mutually offsetting and the Nash equilibrium is efficient. When pollution is at least partially transboundary there also arises the usual transboundary externality and this reinforces the negative net strategic effect, giving rise to equilibrium taxes that are lower than what is globally efficient.
The article is composed as a diptych. First, a general framework of criteria to evaluate the performance of renewable energy support systems is elaborated. It is built around the main criteria effectiveness, efficiency and equity. All three are multi-layered and specifying the contents of the various layers is case dependent. Second, the framework is applied on detailed data about the Flemish tradable certificates support system.Several salient conclusions confirm observations from research in other countries causing growing awareness. First, most crucial is a careful and detailed qualification of renewable energy sources and technologies. Without, even effectiveness is not reliably measurable. Second, nearby targets of renewable energy output must follow from a clearly designed transition trajectory towards a sustainable electricity sector. Such transition is intertwined with an industrial technological policy for bringing the necessary technologies to development and maturity. Third, if the above two prerequisites are overridden certificates systems abound of excess profits, predominantly reaped by incumbent power companies being not the best agents of real change to a sustainable energy future.
A tax on waste-to-energy incineration of fossil carbon in municipal solid waste from households was introduced in Sweden on July 1, 2006. The tax has led to higher incineration gate fees. One of the main purposes with the tax is to increase the incentive for recycling of materials, including biological treatment. We investigate whether and to what extent this effect can be expected. A spreadsheet model is developed in order to estimate the net marginal cost of alternative waste treatment methods, i.e., the marginal cost of alternative treatment minus avoided cost of incineration. The value of the households’ time needed for source separation is discussed and included. The model includes the nine largest fractions, totalling 85% (weight), of the household waste currently being sent to waste incineration: food waste, newsprint, paper packaging, soft and hard plastic packaging, diapers, yard waste, other paper waste, and non-combustible waste. Our results indicate that the incineration tax will have the largest effect on biological treatment of kitchen and garden waste, which may increase by 9%. The consequences of an incineration tax depend on: (a) the level of the tax, (b) whether the tax is based on an assumed average Swedish fossil carbon content or on the measured carbon content in each incineration plant, (c) institutional factors such as the cooperation between waste incinerators, and (d) technological factors such as the availability of central sorting of waste or techniques for measurement of fossil carbon in exhaust gases, etc. Information turns out to be a key factor in transferring the governing force of the tax to the households as well improving the households’ attitudes towards material recycling.
This paper estimates abatement cost functions for reduction of nitrogen oxide emissions from energy production in three industrial sectors. The analysis uses a unique plant-level data set comprising 162 abatement measures implemented by 114 combustion plants and followed annually over the period 1990–96. The analyzed plants became subject to an environmental charge on nitrogen oxide emissions in 1992. The empirical findings suggest that extensive emission reductions have taken place at a zero or very low cost and that effects of learning and technological development in abatement has been present during the analyzed period. The findings support the hypothesis that “low-hanging fruit” is abundant in NOx abatement, however, give little support for the presence of true “win–win” opportunities.
This paper evaluates the two well-known final waste disposal methods, incineration and landfilling. In particular we compare the social cost of two best-available technologies using a point estimate based on private and environmental cost data for the Netherlands. Not only does our comparison allow for Waste-to-Energy incineration plants but for landfills as well. The data provide support for the widespread policy preference for incineration over landfilling only if the analysis is restricted to environmental costs alone and includes savings of both energy and material recovery. Gross private costs, however, are so much higher for incineration, that landfilling is the social cost minimizing option at the margin even in a densely populated country such as the Netherlands. Furthermore, we show that our result generalizes to other European countries and probably to the USA. Implications for waste policy are discussed as well. Proper treatment of and energy recovery from landfills seem to be the most important targets for waste policy. Finally, WTE plants are a very expensive way to save on climate change emissions.
One hundred and three estimates of the marginal damage costs of carbon dioxide emissions were gathered from 28 published studies and combined to form a probability density function. The uncertainty is strongly right-skewed. If all studies are combined, the mode is 14/tC, the mean 350/tC. Studies with a lower discount rate have higher estimates and much greater uncertainties. Similarly, studies that use equity weighing, have higher estimates and larger uncertainties. Interestingly, studies that are peer-reviewed have lower estimates and smaller uncertainties. Using standard assumptions about discounting and aggregation, the marginal damage costs of carbon dioxide emissions are unlikely to exceed $50/tC, and probably much smaller.
This paper demonstrates that governments may have incentives to impose weak environmental standards on industries that compete for business in imperfectly competitive international markets, where ‘weak’ means that the marginal cost of abatement is less than the marginal damage from pollution. However, such an intervention is not as efficient as an export or R&D subsidy in improving competitiveness, and depending on the form of competition and market structure, it may instead be optimal for governments to impose strong environmental standards, where ‘strong’ means that the marginal cost of abatement exceeds the marginal environmental damage.
Output-based refunding of environmental policy revenues combines a tax on emissions with a production subsidy, typically in a revenue-neutral fashion. With imperfect competition, subsidies can alleviate output underprovision. However, when market shares are significant, endogenous refunding reduces abatement incentives and the marginal net tax or subsidy. If market shares differ, marginal abatement costs will not be equalized, and production is shifted among participants. In an asymmetric Cournot duopoly, endogenous refunding leads to higher output, emissions, and overall costs compared with a fixed rebate program targeting the same emissions intensity. These results hold whether emissions rates are determined simultaneously with output or strategically in a two-stage model.
We study the impact of some local policies aimed at municipal solid waste (MSW) reduction on the cost efficiency of MSW collection and disposal. We explicitly account for differences between municipalities in background conditions by using a bootstrapped version of the Data Envelopment Analysis methodology in combination with a matching technique. Using data on 299 municipalities in Flanders, Belgium, for the year 2003, our results indicate that municipalities that are member of a waste collection joint venture, or that subscribe to a voluntary agreement to reduce MSW at the highest ambition level, collect and process MSW more efficiently than other municipalities. Weekly instead of two-weekly waste collection, or using a weight-based pricing system appears to have no impact on efficiency. Our results show that aiming at MSW reduction does not lead to lower efficiency of public service provision, even on the contrary.
/ Since 1975, the European Union (EU) has developed an impressive body of waste management legislation, although, according to the principle of subsidiarity, responsibilities belong to the most local level at which the tasks can be carried out effectively. Using economic theory, this paper examines several factors that influence the efficient distribution of regulatory authority among the EU and the member states. We specifically analyze the role of harmonization that, in our opinion, will often lead to an overcentralization. Within this context, a second issue is becoming more important, as ongoing discussions show. If no consensus can be reached about harmonization, should member states be allowed to stop cross-border shipments of waste, or should the EU strive for a common market for waste? We take the position that most objections against waste shipments are not convincing, especially if the member states implement minimum standards for landfills and waste processing facilities and common information and control systems. Competition between different national regulations within adequate constraints that, e.g., control transboundary externalities leads to more efficient waste management structures in Europe than national self-sufficiency or centralized decision-making at the EU level. KEY WORDS: Waste management; European Union; Subsidiarity; Institutional competition; Harmonization; Cross-border shipments of waste
This paper demonstrates that environmental-quality regulation may enhance producer wealth while simultaneously reducing an externality problem by restricting access to common property. Regulation not only corrects a resource misallocation, but it creates a scarcity rent as well. In the recent history of environmental quality, the common-access problem has been addressed by federal and state agencies through a standards-based approach, rather than through the enforcement of tradable property rights. As a consequence, rents from the right to use these assets have accrued to producers. The data are convincing that there is a strong interplay between producers, consumers, and the victims of pollution. Each party has some influence on the outcome, and one-sided analysis neglects many important aspects of regulation. Environmental-quality regulation is complicated, but many of the observed perplexities are consistent with a rent-seeking, self-interest theory of government. 46 references, 1 figure, 7 tables.
At the core of EU and Swedish waste policy is the so-called waste hierarchy, according to which waste should first be prevented, but should otherwise be treated in the following order of prioritisation: reuse, recycling when environmentally motivated, energy recovery, and last landfilling. Some recent policy decisions in Sweden aim to influence waste management in the direction of the waste hierarchy. In 2001 a governmental commission assessed the economic and environmental impacts of introducing a weight-based tax on waste incineration, the purpose of which would be to encourage waste reduction and increase materials recycling and biological treatment. This paper presents the results of a life cycle assessment (LCA) of the waste incineration tax proposal. It was done in the context of a larger research project concerning the development and testing of a framework for Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). The aim of this paper is to assess the life cycle environmental impacts of the waste incineration tax proposal, and to investigate whether there are any possibilities of more optimal design of such a tax. The proposed design of the waste incineration tax results in increased recycling, but only in small environmental improvements. A more elaborate tax design is suggested, in which the tax level would partly be related to the fossil carbon content of the waste.
We use theory and empirics to examine the effect of environmental regulations on trade flows. A simple model demonstrates how unobserved heterogeneity, endogeneity, and aggregation issues bias standard measurements of this relationship. A reduced-form estimate of the model, using data on U.S. regulations and trade with Canada and Mexico for 130 manufacturing industries from 1977 to 1986, indicates that industries whose abatement costs increased most experienced the largest increases in net imports. For the average industry, the change in net imports we ascribe to regulatory costs amounting to 10% of the total increase in trade volume over the period. Copyright 2008 by the Economics Department Of The University Of Pennsylvania And Osaka University Institute Of Social And Economic Research Association.
The paper deals with international trade in hazardous waste products when there is an international oligopoly market for waste, and both waste-importing and waste-exporting countries act strategically to utilize national environmental policies to attach rents arising from trade in waste. The authors model a multiple-stage game where waste is generated in an industrialized country as a byproduct of production, and potentially is exported to some less-developed countries, if not abated locally, or imposed on local residents at a cost of an environmental tax. In the market for waste, an oligopolistic supply is assumed. The demand for waste is perfectly competitive, with waste-processing firms guided by marginal disposal costs and environmental taxes levied by foreign countries. With each country playing Nash, the analysis finds domestic and foreign taxes to be distorted from the Pigouvian taxes in such a way that the domestic (waste-exporter) tax rate is set below, and the foreign tax rate is set above, the Pigouvian taxes. However, a global welfare optimum requires tax distortions in the opposite direction, in the sense that foreign environmental taxes must be set below the Pigouvian tax rate. Copyright Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2003.
For the last ten years environmentalists and the trade policy community have engaged in a heated debate over the environmental consequences of liberalized trade. The debate was originally fueled by negotiations over the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Uruguay round of GATT negotiations, both of which occurred at a time when concerns over global warming, species extinction and industrial pollution were rising. Recently it has been intensified by the creation of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and proposals for future rounds of trade negotiations. The debate has often been unproductive. It has been hampered by the lack of a common language and also suffered from little recourse to economic theory and empirical evidence. The purpose of this essay is set out what we currently know about the environmental consequences of economic growth and international trade. We critically review both theory and empirical work to answer three basic questions. What do we know about the relationship between international trade, economic growth and the environment? How can this evidence help us evaluate ongoing policy debates? Where do we go from here?
Away with the national borders for waste incineration? OCFEB Burn or bury? A social cost comparison of final waste disposal methods
- E Dijkgraaf
- R Aalbers
- M Varkevisser
Dijkgraaf, E., Aalbers, R., Varkevisser, M., 2001. Away with the national borders for waste incineration? OCFEB, Rotterdam. Dijkgraaf, E., Vollebergh, H., 2004. Burn or bury? A social cost comparison of final waste disposal methods. Ecological Economics 50, 233–247.
Incineration tax unpopular with European waste industry
- Afvalforum
Afvalforum, 2010. Incineration tax unpopular with European waste industry, 9,7–9,
Borderless incineration
- Afvalforum
Afvalforum, 2005. Borderless incineration. 3, 17–18 (translated from: Grenzeloos verbranden in 2006), Vereniging Afvalbedrijven, 's-Hertogenbosch.
Waste Napels shipped to Netherlands
- Afvalonline
Afvalonline, 2012a. Waste Napels shipped to Netherlands. Uitgeverij Noordhoek, Utrecht (translated from 'Afval Napels onderweg naar Nederland') 12/01/2012.
Treatment of EFW air pollution control residues using Tetronics' DC Plasma arc technology
- T P Johnson
- D E Deegan
Johnson, T.P., Deegan, D.E., 2012. Treatment of EFW air pollution control residues using Tetronics' DC Plasma arc technology. In: Proceedings of the 4th International Symposium on Energy from Biomass and Waste, November 12-15, Venice.
The Social Cost of Carbon: Trends, Outliers and Catastrophes Fiscal autonomy of regions and local entities in the light of European law, translated from French, Fondements du droit fiscal, Groupe De Boeck, s.a., Editions Larcier
- R Tol
Tol, R., 2008. The Social Cost of Carbon: Trends, Outliers and Catastrophes. Economics E-journal, 25. Traversa, E., 2010. Fiscal autonomy of regions and local entities in the light of European law, translated from French, Fondements du droit fiscal, Groupe De Boeck, s.a., Editions Larcier, Brussels, (translated from : L'autonomie fiscale des régions et des collectivités locales face au droit communautaire, Analyse et réflexion à la lumière des expériences belge et italienne).
Implementing EU waste legislation for green growth, Report prepared for European Commission DG ENV Use of economic instruments and waste management performances
- Is Bio
Bio IS., 2011. Implementing EU waste legislation for green growth, Report prepared for European Commission DG ENV, Bio Intelligence Service, Paris. Bio IS., 2012. Use of economic instruments and waste management performances, Report prepared for European Commission DG ENV, Bio Intelligence Service, Paris.
The economics of waste. Resources for the Future
- R Porter
Porter, R., 2002. The economics of waste. Resources for the Future, Washington.
Policy intention to withdraw the nitrogen oxides emission trading scheme. Ministerie van infrastructuur en milieu
- J Atsma
Atsma, J., 2012. Policy intention to withdraw the nitrogen oxides emission trading scheme. Ministerie van infrastructuur en milieu, Den Haag (translated from: Beleidsvoornemen de handel in stikstofoxiden in te trekken).
Environmental Economics and Policy Comparison costs/benefits of treatment of household waste in a inceration or post-treatment plant
- T Tietenberg
- L Lewis
Tietenberg, T., Lewis, L., 2010. Environmental Economics and Policy, sixth ed. Pearson Addison-Wesley, Boston. TNO, 2006. Comparison costs/benefits of treatment of household waste in a inceration or post-treatment plant, A-R0336/B, Apeldoorn, (translated from: Vergelijking kosten/baten van verwerking van huishoudelijk restafval in een AVI en een nascheidingsinstallatie).