Economic Incentives and Residential Waste Management in Taiwan: An Empirical Investigation

This paper presents an empirical study of how three waste management policies have affected residential waste generation and recycling behavior in Taiwan over the past decade. The three policies are unit-pricing of garbage in Taipei, a mandatory recycling program in Kaohsiung, and a nationwide policy of charging for plastic bags. We estimate policy effects on total waste, total recycling, and recycling of four specific materials, all measured by weight per capita. Unlike prior work, we find that unit-pricing and mandatory recycling policies lead to significant increases in recycling of most materials, as well as increased levels of total recycling and garbage reduction. The “plastic bag” policy is generally found to lower material-specific and total recycling rates, as well as total garbage volumes.     

物流视角下的我国城市垃圾处理对策研究

分析几种传统的垃圾处理方式的缺陷,总结出只有垃圾分类才是解决我国垃圾困局的唯一出路。然后借鉴欧洲和日本的垃圾分类法,根据我国几个大城市在垃圾分类过程中遇到的一些困惑,提出一种新的分类模式。最后考虑到我国居民的生活习惯,提出几项旨在解决城市垃圾减量化和提高资源利用率的有效措施。     

城市生活垃圾收费方式比较

城市生活垃圾收费是促进垃圾处理产业化、解决城市生活垃圾问题的重要出路。计量用户收费和定额用户收费是两种基本的收费方式,它们有不同的优势。定额用户收费适合于垃圾收费的初始阶段,而在垃圾收费发展到一定水平时,计量用户收费可以用较低的政策成本实现较高的收益。     

Landfilling Versus ``Backstop' Recycling When Income Is Growing

The paper considers a dynamic model in which an income stream,growing over time, is optimally divided into consumption andexpenditures on waste disposal, the latter being optimally dividedbetween ``recycling'and ``landfilling.' Recycling is thoughtof as a ``backstop' waste disposal technology – it does notrequire landfill space but is a relatively expensive method ofwaste disposal. Landfilling uses up scarce landfill capacity. While conserving landfill space is the major reason themunicipality recycles, another motive for recycling might be thatrecycling itself generates utility. Our analysis suggests thatthe optimal recycling program varies considerably with bothlandfill capacity and initial income. For example, richermunicipalities are likely to introduce recycling much earlier inthe planning period than poorer municipalities. Thus whenlegislating recycling, national or regional governments must besensitive to the differences between municipalities.     

浅析城乡生活垃圾处理现状及新型自动分类技术

随着城市化发展和人口增长,城乡生活垃圾处理问题日益严峻。针对我国城市生活垃圾处理技术和设备存在的问题,提出一种新型的生活垃圾自动分类技术。这一技术可以实现生活垃圾减量化、无害化、资源化,实现可持续发展,同时也有利于生态环境的改善。     

循环型社会导向下的日本废弃物管制体系及其启示

循环型社会是成为全球实现经济、社会与环境可持续发展的社会经济范式。发达国家十分重视循环经济的立法问题,尤其是象日本这样经济发达而自然资源匮乏的国家,从基本法、综合法、专项法等多个层面制定了循环社会法律法规。文章对日本循环社会型导向下的废弃物管制体系构建的特征进行了分析,借鉴发达国家循环型社会导向下的废弃物管制过程中形成的经验,提出了强化中国废弃物管制立法的若干启示。     

Recycling and Waste Diversion Effectiveness: Evidence from Canada

In this paper, we investigate the relationship between recycling policy options and recycling behavior to study the most effective methods of diverting post-consumer waste from landfills. We employ data from a unique, micro-data set collected from households in communities across Ontario, Canada. We estimate the relationships between several commonly recycled materials (newsprint, glass, plastics, aluminum cans, tin cans, cardboard, and toxic chemicals) and individual household characteristics, recycling program attributes, and garbage collection financing methods. We find that user fees on garbage collection have significant impacts on recycling levels for all materials except toxic chemicals, and mandatory recycling programs on particular items have significant effects on recycling for almost all materials. Limits on the amount of garbage that can be placed at the curb, and providing free units under user fee systems, however, generally have a negligible or detrimental impact on recycling.JEL classification: D10, H23, Q28     

广州城市生活垃圾增长与用地需求预测

采用线性回归、对数增长、固定比率增长和HP滤波趋势分析等方法对广州2010～2025年的城市生活垃圾及现有处理模式下的用地需求进行了预测。基于对广州未来城市人口基本将保持在1800万规模的判断,选取对数增长预测方法进行预测。结果表明,到2015年、2020年和2025年,广州中心城区终端垃圾处理量分别约为306万吨、320万吨和331万吨,在现有的以填埋为主的处理模式下,垃圾填埋的土地需求分别为407亩、426亩和441亩。     

Does International Harmonization of Environmental Policy Instruments Make Economic Sense?

Harmonization of the instruments used in environmental policy has beenconsidered necessary to guarantee fair competition in internationalmarkets. We examine the economic costs of harmonizing paper recyclingstandards in countries where the urgency of the waste disposal problemsdiffer. Using data of seven European countries we estimate thetechnologically feasible input combinations of pulp and waste paper forpaper production. Short-term effects of two environmental policy measures,minimum content requirement and utilization rate target, are analyzed. Bytranslating the two administrative instruments into taxes and subsidies, weshow that the shadow costs of the harmonization vary considerably betweencountries. The difference in the domestic availability of waste may explainthe variation, and a modification of the policy measures to incorporate thisaspect is suggested.     

A Comparison of Household Recycling Behaviors in Norway and the United States

This paper investigates empirically the determinants of household recycling in Norway and compares the results with a similar, recently published, study of households in the United States. The comparison focuses on the relative importance of user fees on waste disposal, community recycling programs, and socioeconomic factors. Both data sources are nationwide, material-specific, and at the household level. One major finding is that a disposal fee provides a significant economic incentive to Norwegian households, whereas its effectiveness in the United States is still up for debate. Providing households with convenient recycling options, such as curbside and drop-off recycling, appears generally effective, but less so in Norway than in the United States. Socioeconomic characteristics are less important predictors of behavior in Norway than in the United States. Qualifications on the comparison are provided throughout and two extensions for future research are suggested at the end.     

城市无害固体垃圾的管理与公共环境政策

无害固体垃圾处理的问题，是我国城市化高速发展中应重点重视和研究的课题，也是建设现代城市循环经济和节约型社会的基本要素。本文以新加坡为例，研究其如何成功处理迅速增长的无害固体垃圾问题，并探讨其垃圾管理政策，以期为我国在高速城市化发展中解决城市垃圾这一重要环境问题提供有益的借鉴。     

地方政府视角下的小微企业政策支持体系构建

小微企业是我国国民经济的重要组成部分,在经济社会中发挥着不可替代的作用。由于小微企业处于弱势地位,发展过程中面临着成本高、用工荒、融资难、税负重等诸多问题。小微企业的健康发展需要突破体制障碍,在政策上得到支持。当前,国家层面已经出台了一系列小微企业扶持政策,取得了积极成效。各级地方政府要结合上级政策的贯彻落实,采取更加强有力的配套政策措施,加强小微企业政策扶持;各省市财政、税务、金融、科技与公共服务等多个部门,应共同推动对小微企业扶持政策的制定和贯彻落实。     

固废进口的双重动力及其监管的进一步完善

近年来,我国对可用作原料的固废的进口逐年上升。文章从拉动力与推动力两方面分析了固废进口的双重动力机制,提出人均资源相对紧缺、制成品的巨额贸易顺差、对低碳经济的要求是宏观层面的拉动力,企业的逐利行为是微观层面的拉动力;而推动力主要是再生资源利用产业的国际转移。同时,在对现行监管制度进行分析的基础上,提出应从加强国际政府间合作、建立海外收购基地、完善固废利用的技术标准以及从圈区管理到再生资源产业园转变等方面进一步完善固废进口的监管制度。     

加拿大政府的科技政策、管理与科技计划

自20世纪末,加拿大联邦政府科技政策出现重大变化。首先加强了联邦政府在科技政策方面的战略规划,提出了中长期科技发展政策和战略目标,成立国家科技与创新委员会,向内阁政府提供科技政策建议,定期发布国家科技与创新国情咨文。与此同时．加强了政府各部门之间的协调力度,将国内科技政策的制定和协调统归加拿大工业部负责。并由其负责协调实施重大国内科技专项计划,强化了政府一研究机构一企业的产学研结合。大力扶持加拿大企业的技术创新体系建设。