An EU Recycling Target: What Does the Dutch Evidence Tell Us?

The European Union (EU) advocates a household waste recycling rate of more than 65 %. Although the Netherlands has already invested heavily in recycling policies, this is still a big challenge as nowadays this rate is approximately 50 % on average and very few no municipalities have a rate above 65 %. Given this practice, it is possible to learn from the Dutch experience which policies are effective in increasing recycling rates. Based on a large panel data set for the Netherlands, we show that unit-based pricing, avoiding a duo-bin for unsorted and compostable waste, and reducing the frequency of collecting unsorted and compostable waste at the curbside are effective in raising the recycling rate. However, only a bag-based pricing system has a substantial effect, but this policy can have some adverse effects. Other unit-based pricing systems have effects of less than 10 % points. In nearly all cases, changing the frequency of collection of recyclables has no or very small effects. Moreover, the complementarity between unit-based pricing and curbside service is low. Overall, it seems very difficult to reach the EU goal of 65 % with the policies applied.     

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     

Differential Provision of Solid Waste Collection Services in the Presence of Heterogeneous Households

A model of household refuse production is presented in which individuals differ in their distaste for the waste stock and the supply of waste collection services is continuous in pick-up frequency. The inclusion of pick-up frequency into household solid waste management analyses has already been shown to have policy implications. In fact, even in the absence of the waste stock externality, a system of uniform consumption taxes and legal (or curbside) disposal and recycling subsidies has been found to be necessary (and sufficient) to induce households to socially optimally allocate their resources when illegal disposal (or simply dumping) incentives exist but a per unit punishment system for dumping is lacking. This policy is here concluded to be no longer feasible; instead, a system of differential consumption taxes and recycling subsidies and uniform legal disposal subsidies is found to be optimal (but possibly nonimplementable). In the presence of heterogeneous households, which are however identifiable on the basis of their relative location to the landfill site, an optimal and implementable policy is then shown to require a differential provision of collection services.     

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.     

Wasting Time? Recycling Incentives in Urban Taiwan and Japan

What makes recycling work? We study the factors driving household waste disposal and recycling in 18 cities in Taiwan and Japan in order to understand the impact of alternative waste management incentives. We show that this depends on the effect of distinct policies on the relative costs of the main alternative disposal methods: recycling, disposal to landfill and illegal dumping. The willingness both to recycle and to dispose to landfill depends on the relative costs of the waste collection regime, and these are dominated by the time cost of alternative disposal methods. The higher the frequency of waste collection, the less recycling and the more disposal to landfill there will be. This is because frequent collection reduces the marginal time-cost of disposal to landfill. Curbside collection of recyclable material, and the frequency of that collection, has a similar effect on the recycling rate. Although direct incentives, such as unit pricing are important in the waste disposal decision, recycling depends primarily on management of the time-costs it involves.     

An economic analysis of the Packaging waste Recovery Note System in the UK

In order to cope with the increasing scarcity of final dump sites for household wastes, the UK recently introduced an environmental policy targeted at the firms that produce and sell products that generate packaging wastes. This policy requires such businesses to hold predetermined numbers of tradable credits called “Packaging waste Recovery Notes” (PRNs). This article provides insights into the economic implications of such a policy through a simple analytical model of a recyclable product and the PRN markets. Our analysis yields two particularly interesting results. First, an increase in the required recycling rate dampens the output and landfill waste levels, while the effect on the level of recycling activities is ambiguous. Second, an increase in the landfill tax always leads to an increase in the landfill waste. We also discuss how the socially optimal landfill tax in the presence of the PRN market should be chosen.     

农户参与农业废弃物资源化利用的意愿及其影响因素分析——基于黑、鲁、豫、川4省684户农户的调查数据

农业废弃物资源化利用是防治农业面源污染、改善农业生产环境的有效途径;同时,也是改善农村人居环境,推动生态宜居美丽乡村建设的重要内容。基于黑龙江、山东、河南、四川4省684个样本农户数据,运用多元排序Probit模型分析了农户农业废弃物资源化利用参与意愿及其影响因素,并通过控制相关变量进行了稳健性检验。结果表明,政府监管并不能提高农户参与农业废弃物资源化利用的意愿,而前景预期、政策了解度、农业废弃物资源化补贴、设立固定回收点或与回收企业合作、合作社参与等因素更能提高农户的参与意愿。为此,可以采取发挥非经济预期的作用、构建财政补贴机制、健全农业废弃物资源化回收利用机制、利用合作社平台等措施激发农户参与农业废弃物资源化利用的关键行为动机,提高农户参与农业废弃物资源化利用的意愿,推动农业绿色发展及乡村生态振兴。     

ILLEGAL DISPOSAL AND WASTE COLLECTION FREQUENCY

A model of household refuse production is presented in which the implications of the presence of dumping incentives for the public choice of garbage collection frequency under a user fee system are analysed. Insofar as governments wishing to balance their waste collection service budgets can set the marginal benefit of collecting garbage equal to its marginal cost, no externality arises through pick‐up frequency. However, when the expected punishment for dumping is zero or independent of its extent, the public provision of refuse collection frequency turns out to be negatively affected by the amount of garbage that individuals dump and, therefore, intervention in the management of household waste is required. The optimal policy is found to consist of taxes on consumption goods and subsidies for curbside (or legal) disposal and recycling that are directly linked to collection costs.     

Heterogeneous Preferences for Community Recycling Programs

This paper examines household preferences for community recycling programs, which have both public and private good dimensions. The data come from a survey conducted in Seattle (WA) which elicited stated preference-contingent ratings for different recycling programs relative to status quo, with experimental variation in the overall community recycling rate achieved and expected household cost. The recycling rate is interpreted as capturing the public benefits of recycling programs and constitutes the most common measure used by policy agencies for setting waste management objectives and evaluating policy initiatives. The analysis begins with fixed parameter models that explore different ways of handling rating data and mixed logit estimations that capture household preference heterogeneity both within and across different recycling programs. This analysis yields unique estimates of willingness to pay for an increase in the community recycling rate. Predicted individual-specific utility parameters are then regressed on household background information to explicitly examine the nature of preference heterogeneity. Overall, this paper generates interpretable policy-relevant insights into the public and private good dimensions of community recycling programs.     

PRICE AND SUBSTITUTION IN RESIDENTIAL SOLID WASTE

Many per-unit curbside recycling and garbage collection pricing systems were implemented in the 1990s. A detailed data set is used to estimate the effect of an increase in the per-unit price change for a long-running pricing system across time in one city. A fixed-effects regression controls for collection district and explanatory variables including weather, time, and employment changes. The elasticity estimate is within the range of previous work but with a higher cross-price elasticity to recycling. This shift to recycling results in significant financial benefits to the city and a small decrease in social welfare. ( JEL Q5, Q53)     

“互联网+再生资源回收”模式推进机制的三方演化博弈研究

随着垃圾分类政策逐步在全国范围内推行,一些企业将互联网技术与垃圾分类回收相结合,提出了“互联网+再生资源回收”的新模式,但目前该模式仍处于探索阶段,想要在全国范围内推广还有诸多问题需要解决。论文基于演化博弈论理论,构建“互联网+再生资源回收”模式下城市生活垃圾分类回收的演化博弈模型,对博弈三方行为决策进行分析以及仿真验证,研究结果表明:政府的监督成本、政府提供给垃圾分类企业和居民的财政补贴、政府对垃圾分类企业的行政处罚力度以及居民参与垃圾分类的直接收益等因素是制约三方演化博弈能否达到理想均衡状态的关键,进一步分析模型成因,并针对结果提出几点建议。     

Recycling of plastics: A materials balance optimisation model

At present the volume of solid waste produced in modern consumer societies is increasing, requiring policy measures to reduce the volume of waste to be dumped or incinerated. In this article a materials balance optimisation model for the recycling of plastics is developed to analyse the impact of policy measures that stimulate recycling. The study presents the structure of the optimisation model and it gives the results of a charge imposed on the dumping and incineration of plastics. The calculations show that considerable effort should be made to reach the recycling targets for plastic that have been set by the public authorities for the year 2000.     

Financing a competitive recycling initiative in Switzerland

The purpose of the paper is to enhance the understanding of different pricing systems within the real world of solid waste management: first the effect on recycling behaviour of citizens, and second the effect on the budget goals, and third the operational logic of different economic measures will be analyzed. Hence it helps practitioners understand and cope with the challenge of meeting the zero profit budget goal in public solid waste management while inducing behaviour change in the regional solid waste system. The question “How can robust recycling strategies be financed?” is addressed.The analysis draws on a system dynamics model for solid waste management that is based on a model framework on human behaviour and public policy that embraces an evolutionary feedback perspective. The model structure was deduced from an ex-post analysis of observed phenomena in solid waste management such as recurring budget deficits at the local level in Switzerland. The paper illustrates how the model was used as a policy lab in which various pricing and incentive strategies were tested that allowed addressing “what-if-questions” under controlled conditions. The various policy-experiments illustrated crucial trade offs between zero profit budget goals at the local level and the administration of a successful recycling initiative. Different scenario-experiments show that under worst-case conditions economic instrument are not sufficient in order to yield a robust policy outcome.     

On the Second-best Policy of Household's Waste Recycling

This study analyzes the second-best household's waste recycling policy. If we assume the first-best economy with no illegal disposal or transaction costs, then unit pricing, an advance disposal fee and a recycling subsidy are required in order to achieve the social optimum such that both the sum of unit pricing and an advance disposal fee and the sum of unit pricing and a recycling subsidy are equal to the marginal disposal cost. Furthermore, the first-best outcome can also be obtained by a producer take-back requirement system.In the real economy, however, various factors prevent the first-best optimal outcome. In this study we consider two factors, one being the transaction cost associated with a recycling subsidy (or refund) and the other being illegal disposal by the consumer. If a recycling subsidy (or a deposit-refund system) is adopted, a transaction cost associated with it will be generated. Alternatively, if unit pricing is adopted, some of the consumed goods may be disposed of illegally. We show the complete trade-off between unit pricing and a recycling subsidy. In other words, we can not adopt unit pricing and a recycling subsidy simultaneously. As a result, there are three candidates for the second-best policy: unit pricing with an advance disposal fee, a deposit-refund system, and a producer take-back requirement system.Which of these three policies is the second-best policy will depend on the relative magnitude of the price of a recycled good and the marginal transaction cost associated with a recycling subsidy (or the refund in a deposit-refund system). Generally, if the price of a recycled good is positive and the marginal transaction cost is relatively high, unit pricing with an advance disposal fee is the second-best policy. However, where the price of a recycled good is negative and the marginal transaction cost is relatively high, a producer take-back requirement system is the second-best policy. Further, where the marginal transaction cost is relatively low, a deposit-refund system is the second-best policy, regardless of whether the price of a recycled good is positive or negative.     

The determinants of China's lending rates and interest rates pass-through: A cointegration analysis

Based on quarterly data between Q4, 2008–Q4, 2017, this study examines the interest rates pass-through from policy rate to lending rates, and more broadly, the determinants of lending rates in China. The results show that while there is a certain level of pass-through from money market rates to lending rates, and the interest rates pass-through has improved after the interest rate liberalization completion on October 2015, this pass-through is also negatively affected by the asset quality of commercial banks and shadow banking activities as well. This study also finds that the macroeconomic condition also affects the lending rates.     

Resource and Waste Taxation in the Theory of the Firm with Recycling Activities

The management of solid waste has become an urgent problem in nations with a great population density. Accordingly, waste reduction through source reduction and recycling has become increasingly important. Our purpose is to show how prevention, recycling and disposal of waste could be part of a theory of the firm. We first derive efficient production functions from production processes with waste as a by-product. Waste obtained as new scrap can partially be recycled by using additional inputs in order to cut back the purchase of virgin material. Waste not completely recyclable will leave the firm as disposal which also entails cost to the firm. We use the dual cost function approach to develop a theory of the firm under solid residual management.Since the producer does not bear the full cost of disposal, there will be a bias toward virgin materials and away from recycling. The goal of the government is to stimulate the firms to recycle with respect to the preservation of exhaustible resources. An incentive to recycle is a tax on resources or on waste. In order to determine the tax levels the government maximizes welfare subject to the dynamic constraint for decumulation of land fill for waste deposits. This gives the user cost and its time profile for taxing waste disposal or virgin material.In a comparative statics analysis we compare the effect of taxes on waste vs. virgin material on effort to produce in a resource saving manner, on the quantity of recycled material, on output, and on the reduction of waste. Since the impact of environmental regulation on employment is important, our model detects seven effects on labor demand as part of resource conservation policy. We finally carry out a comparative statics analysis of waste intensive firms operating in different market structures. Of interest is the impact of a resource or waste taxation on market volume, on the number of firms, on resource saving effort, and on profit.     

广西电子废弃物回收对策分析

广西经济的快速发展促进了电子产品的需求与消费增加,电子产品更新速度的加快,使得广西电子废弃物迅速增加,对广西循环经济和旅游业发展的影响开始凸显。通过实地调研了解广西电子废弃物回收渠道与回收政策法规的制订情况,根据广西1990年到2006年的电子产品拥有量数据的统计分析与处理,分析了电子废弃物规模扩张的主要原因。针对广西电子废弃物的回收处理现状,总结了广西电子废弃物回收处理存在的主要障碍：广西电子废弃物总量分布不确切;对电子废弃物的潜在价值和危害认识不足;民间作坊处理技术的落后以及相关政策法规的不健全。针对广西电子废弃物回收处理现状和存在的问题,在借鉴发达国家和台湾地区回收处理电子废弃物的经验基础上,提出广西电子废弃物回收处理的对策建议。     

A waste management model for optimal recycling-landfilling policies under macroeconomic conditions

This research provides a waste management model in the presence of macroeconomic conditions. An optimal control problem which integrates the recycling-landfilling decision with industry supply-demand dynamics is designed to achieve the value-maximizing objective. The model simultaneously considers idiosyncratic technical and aggregate demand shocks, while the stoppage time for landfill use is assumed to follow a Cox process with the intensity function of a firm's total waste collection. The closed-form solution of the optimal recycling ratio is also derived. The results suggest that when macroeconomic effects are neglected, optimal recycling ratios tend to be underestimated.     

垃圾按量收费政策的理论与实践进展——环境经济政策的前沿领域

垃圾按量收费是管制垃圾的最直接的环境经济政策。理论分析和经验证据表明，垃圾按量收费对减少垃圾排放和增加垃圾回收有显著效果。当然，垃圾按量收费也可能存在潜在问题，应用不当也会产生不利的效果。主要探讨垃圾按量收费政策的理论基础、实践效应、实施条件和配套措施，以期为垃圾按量收费在中国的应用提供借鉴。     

A Post-Consumer Waste Management Model for Determining Optimal Levels of Recycling and Landfilling

The present study examines the optimal recycling rate for municipal solid waste. First, an optimal control model is developed to account for the physical costs of recycling, the social costs of landfilling, and consumers' environmental preferences. Second, an optimal solution is simulated using waste disposal data from the Helsinki region in Finland. The benefits from recycling are included in the simulation using the results of a recent contingent valuation study. The results of the present research suggest that mandates for achieving 50% recycling in municipalities are not far-fetched and are both economically and environmentally justified.