Impact of a regulatory target and external factors on the waste efficiency of Italian municipalities.

Due to increasing consumption and urbanisation, urban waste management and recycling are a primary concern in Italy. Italian waste collection underwent significant reform with the introduction of a sorted collection target of 65% of total collected waste in Legislative Decree No. 152/2006. In this article, we analyse the effect of this regulatory target on the efficiency of waste collection in 275 Italian municipalities in the years 2016-2019. We estimate the coefficients of the cost efficiencies of the sorted and unsorted waste without assuming functional forms for the efficient frontier or the distribution of efficiency. Our findings suggest that municipalities that met the 65% sorted waste target demonstrated higher efficiency as costs increased, whereas those that failed to meet the target demonstrated higher inefficiency as costs increased. Strong effects emerged for population and urban economic development on the success of waste collection, whereas only marginal effects were observed for population density and city size. To improve the situation of municipalities that are not meeting the 65% target, we propose several policy measures, including 'neighbourhood solidarity'.

Drift in policy implementation: Incentives thwarted in a recycling programme.

An incentives-based residential recycling programme was designed and implemented for improving residential waste sorting in Shanghai city, but showed very limited success in its performance. To identify why, this study systematically analysed each step of implementation using key informant interviews and site observations. Results show that policy intentions were retained in the policy devolution processes from Municipality to District, and then to Street (ward) levels, but the incentives concepts were effectively nullified in the further devolution to community-level governance. The local implementers focused on formal key performance indicators (KPIs) in order to satisfy inspections. However, the KPIs, which had been devised to allow ease of measurement, were found to unintentionally cause divergence from the policy intention of incentivisation of residents. Furthermore, high scores for these KPIs masked the implementation failure. This identification of the effective derailing of a policy via conscientious implementation is worth highlighting for avoidance in other programmes, in recycling or elsewhere.

Electronic waste control and management in Ghana: A critical assessment of the law, perceptions and practices.

The aim of the study was to assess the impact of Ghana's hazardous and e-waste control and management Act 917 of 2016 on current e-waste management practices and the level of awareness among key stakeholders (general public, repairers, wholesalers/retailers, recyclers and importers of electronic items) in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected and examined in this study. Results showed a low level (12%) of awareness among stakeholders on the e-waste legislation. Almost 13% of respondents had been educated on e-waste management. Community engagement and the mass media were the main sources of information on e-waste. Significant associations between background information of respondents and awareness level on 'Ghana's Act 917' were observed. Relative to general e-waste issues, only education and stakeholder showed significant associations with e-waste legislation and management. The main e-waste disposal methods adopted by respondents were disposal at dumpsites (22.7%), repair and reuse (21.1%) and reselling (20.1%). Almost 10% of respondents made changes to their e-waste disposal practices over the past 5 years. These changes were mainly due to the economic benefits derived from reselling e-waste (37.6%) and the perceived adverse impacts of e-waste on the environment (23.9%). Overall, there is the need to intensify awareness on 'Ghana's Act 917', especially issues regarding sustainable e-waste management practices.

Determinants of household food waste reduction intention in China: The role of perceived government control.

About one third of food are wasted or lost globally every year which causes the problems of environmental degradation, food security issues, and economic inefficiency. With the new mandatory source separation policy implemented in China, the main objective of this research is to identify the variables that impact household food waste reduction intention and to understand the role of perceived government control and perceived policy effectiveness from the perspective of households. Using a PLS-SEM model design, a questionnaire with nine constructs including theory of planned behaviors variables, perceived policy effectiveness, perceived government control, perceived consumer effectiveness, and environmental concern were answered by respondents (n = 3037). Results showed that the less well-studied variables of perceived government control are important in shaping shareholder's food waste intention. As expected, the theory of planned behavior variables, perceived consumer effectiveness, and environmental concern are positively related to reducing food waste intention, while strong perceived government control was associated with lowering intention in food waste reduction. This paper then extends existing understanding of psychological determinants of food waste by identifying perceived government control as mediator.

The impact of a gain-sharing cost-reflective tariff on waste management cost under incentive regulation: The Italian case.

In many European countries, waste tariff systems are being updated to take account of the consolidation of circular economy objectives. We forecast the impact of a gain-sharing cost-reflective tariff on waste management sustainability. The cost-reflective tariff generates an economic surplus for society, while meeting environmental goals. Based on empirical data we developed two scenarios. The baseline scenario formalizes the current Italian tariff scheme, while the intervention scenario includes users' response to a gainsharing policy. By optimizing the tariff structure, society would benefit from a surplus that could be reached setting an asymmetric regulation based on current waste management efficiency level. Our results will potentially be a basis for directing waste management policy as per tariff design.

Polyethylene recycling: Waste policy scenario analysis for the EU-27.

This paper quantifies the main impacts that the adoption of the best recycling practices together with a reduction in the consumption of single-use plastic bags and the adoption of a kerbside collection system could have on the 27 Member States of the EU. The main consequences in terms of employment, waste management costs, emissions and energy use have been quantified for two scenarios of polyethylene (PE) waste production and recycling. That is to say, a "business as usual scenario", where the 2012 performances of PE waste production and recycling are extrapolated to 2020, is compared to a "best practice scenario", where the best available recycling practices are modelled together with the possible adoption of the amended Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive related to the consumption of single-use plastic bags and the implementation of a kerbside collection system. The main results show that socio-economic and environmental benefits can be generated across the EU by the implementation of the best practice scenario. In particular, estimations show a possible reduction of 4.4 million tonnes of non-recycled PE waste, together with a reduction of around €90 million in waste management costs in 2020 for the best practice scenario versus the business as usual scenario. An additional 35,622 jobs are also expected to be created. In environmental terms, the quantity of CO2 equivalent emissions could be reduced by around 1.46 million tonnes and the net energy requirements are expected to increase by 16.5 million GJ as a consequence of the reduction in the energy produced from waste. The main analysis provided in this paper, together with the data and the model presented, can be useful to identify the possible costs and benefits that the implementation of PE waste policies and Directives could generate for the EU.

The challenges for solid waste management in accordance with Agenda 21: a Brazilian case review.

This paper aims to evaluate the suitability of the Brazilian solid waste policy (BSWP) with global Agenda 21 and the challenges of implementing the BSWP in municipalities. For this, a review of the principles that guided the creation of this policy was performed to demonstrate that international pressures were important in determining its effectiveness. The contradictory relationship between the satisfactory legal framework that established the Brazilian waste management policy and its weakened implementation in the municipalities is also examined . To illustrate the difficulties faced at the local level, a case study involving municipalities that compose the state of Espírito Santowe was undertaken. In this state, the municipalities signed terms of environmental commitment with supervisory agencies who undertook, within a pre-established schedule, to implement a set of actions to shape the proper management of solid waste, adapted to the requirements of national policy and the guidelines of Agenda 21. Finally, the various difficulties in meeting the requirements are discussed. It is necessary and urgent that Brazil finds a way to coordinate the mechanisms of an innovative and well formulated legal instrument to ensure the successful implementation of solid waste management at the local level to achieve the environmental, economic and social objectives.

An improved strategy for effectively managing the transboundary movement of waste based on the basel convention: A case study in South Korea.

Despite the efforts made to minimize the illegal trafficking of hazardous waste and prevent environmental pollution worldwide in accordance with the 1989 Basel Convention (BC), the illegal transboundary movement of waste and associated environmental pollution are ongoing. This study proposes a three-stage theoretical approach to effectively managing this waste. In stage one, the Convention, including its 2019 revisions, stipulates six primary requirements: clear declaration, hazardous waste, onsite inspection, responsibility, transport management, and final disposal after import. In stage two, the export and import management system is divided into four facets: customs preprocessing, customs processing, follow-up, and law. The challenges are presented of how to align the waste disposal with the Basel Convention's main requirements. Stage three presents a discussion of the effectiveness of the countermeasures derived in stage two for disposing of waste both within individual nations and internationally. Then, the theoretical approach was applied to analyzing South Korea Ministry of Environment's Act on the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Waste and Their Disposal (revised in 2017). The strategy was demonstrated to be an improvement, and these study results can be foundational data to newly establish laws or revise existing acts on transboundary movement of waste (TMW) in each country.

Restoring the incentives for eco-design in extended producer responsibility: The challenges for eco-modulation.

Extended producer responsibility (EPR) is an environmental policy strategy that makes producers responsible for the waste management of their products and packages. A key goal of EPR is to incentivize producers to (re)design their products and packages to improve their environmental performance, especially at end of life. However, because of the way in which the financial structure of EPR has evolved, those incentives have largely been muted or undetectable. Eco-modulation has emerged as an additional component in EPR to restore the missing incentives for eco-design. Eco-modulation operates through changes in the fees that producers pay to meet their EPR obligations. Eco-modulation includes both increased differentiation of types of products and associated fees, and additional bonuses and penalties-environmentally targeted discounts and penalties on the fees that each producer pays. Based on primary, secondary, and grey literature, this article characterizes challenges faced by eco-modulation if it is to restore the incentives for eco-design. These include weak linkages to environmental outcomes, fees too low to induce changes in materials or design, lack of adequate data and ex post policy evaluation, and implementation that differs across jurisdictions. Opportunities to address these challenges include use of life cycle assessment (LCA) to inform eco-modulation, increased eco-modulation fees, strategies to increase harmonization of eco-modulation implementation, mandated provision of data, and policy evaluation tools that establish the efficacy of different eco-modulation schemes. Considering the scope of the challenges and the complexity of establishing eco-modulation programs, we suggest treating eco-modulation at this stage as an experiment in promoting eco-design.

Quality of recycling: Urgent and undefined.

Quality of recycling is a concept used by many authors in the scientific literature and the EU legislator. However, a clear definition of what is intended for quality of recycling and a framework for operationalising it is lacking. Most studies, while proposing indicators reflecting quality, leave the concept of quality largely undefined. Such lack of clarity is an obstacle to the conception of robust policies addressing recycling and circular economy. In this article, we review the available studies investigating on recycling quality, synthetize the approaches available and conclude suggesting a way forward for research to operationalise the definition to support circular economy policy measures and monitoring. Essentially, quality is not an on/off criterion. The definition of quality of recycling should consider that quality depends on technical characteristics of the recyclate, which determine if it is adequate (thus functional) for a certain end application or not. Furthermore, it should consider that the recyclate can be used in different end applications over different markets and that can be adequate for substitution of primary resources in certain applications, but less or not in others. At system-wide level, this results in a certain degree of virgin resource substitution. To this end, preserving functionality, i.e. minimising the recyclate loss of functions via functional recycling, is key. Drawing upon studies on waste management, life cycle assessment and resource dissipation, we link the concept of functionality to substitutability of virgin resources and broader suitability in the circular economy, striving to show the linkages between different perspectives.

Waste management and Italian provinces: Why pay more for less?

This work investigates the role of waste treatment methods and separation policies in explaining the Total Waste Management Costs (TWMC) at NUTS 3 level, Italy, between 2015 and 2018. In this context, northern provinces generally have high efficiency and circularity, while central and southern provinces lag behind. It is unclear how much of the difference is motivated by socioeconomic factors and how much by political entrenchment in low circularity policies. Panel data models have been estimated using provincial and regional fixed effects targeting TWMC as the dependent variable. Two main independent variables are considered as drivers. One is a composite policy indicator that gives higher weight to circular methods and waste-to-energy treatments. Lower weights have been given to increase landfill, generic incineration, and biological and mixed treatments. The second independent variable is the ratio between separated waste and total municipal waste flow. The estimations' results indicate that the composite indicator of circular policies reduces TWMC while separation policies increase them. Furthermore, it is estimated that provinces need to improve their composite performance significantly to offset the cost increases derived by separation policies. Thus, perseverance in pursuing an incomplete circular policy might be a driver of TWMC at the local level.

The (un)shared responsibility in the reverse logistics of portable batteries: A Brazilian case.

The Brazilian National Solid Waste Policy (BNSWP) determines that reverse logistics (RL) of waste batteries is mandatory and adopts the principle of shared responsibility among stakeholders. In this work, we sought to diagnose the current state of the RL chain for batteries in Vale do Aço, Brazil, and identify challenges and potentialities related to its improvement. Data were obtained by means of questionnaires sent to the main stakeholders involved in the batteries RL chain and by consultation of official Brazilian databases. The results showed that the main obstacles to the implementation of the RL of portable batteries in the region are: the lack of information by consumers and retailers regarding the BNSWP and management of waste batteries; the existence of few collection and consolidation points in the region; lack of municipal waste management plans; and lack of sustainability of waste picker organizations. The identified potentialities were: the good receptivity of environmental education actions by the population; the possibility of taking advantage of direct logistics of local retail chains to collect waste; the existence of a special waste management and transportation company in the region; and the existence of waste picker organizations interested in integrating the RL system. Finally, by a SWOT analysis, strategies for the implementation of a more effective RL system were drawn up. This work can serve as a basis for the structuring and implementation of the batteries RL system at the Metropolitan Region of Vale do Aço (MRVA) and can be a reference for other settings.

The impact of COVID-19 outbreak and perceptions of people towards household waste management chain in Nepal.

The spread of COVID-19 is posing significant challenges to the household (HH) waste management sectors putting waste personnel and concerned bodies under massive pressure. The chain of collection, segregation, recycling, and disposal of household generated wastes is interrupted. This study aimed to assess how the household waste management chain was disrupted by novel coronavirus in Nepal and find the perception of the people towards the existing household waste management system (HHWMS). A descriptive online survey was carried out among 512 people using a cross-sectional research design and data was collected through a self-administered questionnaire method. Both descriptive, as well as inferential tests, were conducted using SPSS software. The finding of this study showed that 62.3% of respondents were not satisfied with the present HHWMS. Furthermore, there was a significant association of the satisfaction level of household waste management during coronavirus outbreak with gender, waste volume change in lockdown, PPE for waste collectors, and education on waste handling techniques provided by the government sector at 5% level of significance (p < 0.05). Proper HH waste management has become a challenge, and to address this some innovative works such as awareness programs for people, health and hygiene related support to waste workers, and effective policy formulation and implementation should be done by the Government of Nepal.

The Political Economy of Australia's Waste Crisis: From Neoliberalism to the Circular Economy Agenda.

The international trade of waste has come under public spotlight in recent years with China, the world's main waste sink for several decades, effectively banning its waste imports in 2018 and subsequently starting a waste crisis in Australia. This article compares the perspectives of orthodox economics, circular economy and political economy on waste economics and policy in Australia. Taking an approach combining both qualitative and quantitative analysis, this article finds that the political economy of Australia's waste crisis can be understood in terms of two phases: (1) an expansionary phase in Australia's waste industry from the 1990s onwards, driven by export-oriented growth and neoliberal policy which ultimately led to a waste crisis in 2018, and (2) an emerging recovery stage for the industry led by circular economy policy and more domestically oriented development. These findings contribute to ongoing discourse on the circular economy agenda, demonstrating that in the case of Australia's waste crisis, circular economy is more of a pragmatic strategy to stimulate economic recovery rather than some radical change towards environmental sustainability.

Co-production in solid waste management: analyses of emerging cases and implications for circular economy in Nigeria.

Co-production is a paradigm shift from the traditional model of public policymaking and service delivery that advocates for the involvement and participation of end-users of services as co-partaker in the process. In this paper, we examined the emerging models of co-production in solid waste management in Nigeria using a case study methodology. Four cases were purposefully selected for detailed exploration. The results of the analysis show that the involvement of the plurality of the non-state actors in waste management co-production brought in innovation through ICT, financial resources through grants, and increased public awareness. And have also given the service receivers a change of orientation that makes them perceive waste as a source of income rather than all rubbish needed to be discarded. However, possible exploitation of informal waste pickers, unclear business models, and absence of prior arrangement for coming together of both state and non-state actors in designing the service production are challenges to the emerging co-production cases. The current study further shows that the emerging co-production efforts have huge potential in promoting circular economy as it creates a better avenue for the implementation of extended producer responsibility (EPR), the establishment of eco-industrial parks, and safe integration of informal waste recyclers.

Recognising waste use potential to achieve a circular economy.

Waste management historically focused on the protection of human health and the natural environment from the impacts of littering and dispersion of pollutants. An additional and more recent concern is the resource value of waste. Our analysis shows that the regulatory concept of waste in the European Union, which comprises environmental principles, the legal definition of waste, legal requirements, and policy implementation, is not fit for addressing this concern. The legal definition of waste overlooks the context of waste, fails to consider the interests of the waste user as opposed to the waste holder, and aims to control the impacts of careless discarding rather than stimulating careful discarding. To address these challenges, we suggest a legal requirement to recognise the potential of waste to be used, operationalised by formulating a waste use potential, which expresses how and how much waste can be used as a resource, given enabling conditions. Recognition of waste use potential highlights local opportunities for reuse and recovery, reduces the likelihood of careless discarding, and reveals the interests of possible waste users to the waste holder. The waste use potential may be employed in the formulation and evaluation of policies for industrial and municipal solid waste in a circular economy.

Waste management in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) - A barrier to developing circular cities.

The Commercial and Industrial (C&I) waste stream is complex due to the diversity of material generated and variation in businesses by activity and size. Businesses in England generate more waste than households but despite this the C&I waste stream has historically been overlooked in waste policy. Many Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) do not segregate dry recyclable materials and biowaste for separate collection leading to resources being wasted. Implementing smarter systems for managing waste from SMEs will be a key component of developing circular cities. In England the government has pledged to improve the management of waste from businesses - however it is uncertain what interventions, if any, it will make. This paper evaluates the mandatory requirement for businesses to separate out dry recyclable materials and biowaste in 42 global cities. The results highlight the patchwork of legislation towards C&I waste with 27 cities having no mandatory requirement for businesses to segregate material. Where the requirement was mandatory, the approach varied from being fully mandated to having exemptions based on the type and size of business, and levels of waste generated. From the legislation in these cities eight scenarios were modelled to assess what impact these interventions could have in England based on waste data collected from 62 SMEs. Mandatory separation of dry recyclable materials and biowaste for all SMEs based on the approach in San Francisco would have the biggest impact leading to 67.2% additional waste being separated - an average of 31.1 kg/week for the SMEs sampled.

Extended producer responsibility for waste tyres in the EU: Lessons learnt from three case studies - Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands.

The article compares the performance of three Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) systems for tyres and discusses the respective policy context that leads to these results. It aims to give insight into the varied implementation of EPR policy through the presentation of case studies. The EPR systems for tyres in Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands are described and common success factors as well as weaknesses are examined. The systems mainly differ in respect of scope and targets for material and energy recovery. The presented case studies assign physical (through a take-back obligation) as well as financial (through an advanced disposal fee) responsibility to the producers. EPR for tyres has been found to reduce flytipping and illegal stockpiling of tyres; increase resource efficiency by increased recycling; and move waste tyre management up the waste hierarchy. It is found that best results for recycling are achieved, if the legislation sets quantitative targets and clearly defines waste status of tyres to maximise local reuse/retread. It is argued however, that recycling is favourable over reuse/retread in the case of waste tyres. The case studies show that an EPR system is no guarantee for waste treatment in the most environmentally sound way. An EPR system will only achieve its objectives if properly designed, implemented and enforced. If legislation allows, Producer Responsibility Organisations will find the cheapest, not the environmentally most favourable, solution for waste management.

Waste problem in European Union and its influence on waste management behaviours.

Waste generation is a critical problem globally and even in the European Union (EU). In EU countries, significant differences have been observed in terms of municipal waste generation. The level of waste generation significantly depended on economic development. The most effective tools for solving the waste problem should be the enhancement of reducing, reusing, and recycling behaviours. However, our results revealed that the level of reducing and reusing behaviours insignificantly influenced waste generation. Thus, countries seeking to minimize waste generation should also pay more attention to the promotion of sustainable consumption and production. Meanwhile, the relationship between recycling behaviour and waste generation was positive and statistically significant. Analysing the determinants of waste management behaviours, attitude to personal waste generation significantly contribute to all waste management behaviours. Meanwhile, attitudes to general waste management significantly but negatively influence waste reducing and recycling behaviours. Thus, only these respondents who understand that they personally contribute to waste problem, more perform waste management behaviours. Furthermore, the efforts to reduce waste significantly influenced only recycling behaviour while attitude to resource efficiency insignificantly determined all waste management behaviours, revealing that people in the EU have a lack of knowledge about the relationship between waste reduction and resource efficiency.

Waste recycling patents and environmental innovations: An economic analysis of policy instruments in the USA, Japan and Europe.

Since natural resources are finite, new policy instruments to sustain the most efficient processes of waste recycling are required in all countries. To this end, it is critical to explore all technology mechanisms underlying solid waste researchers and practitioners' behaviors. The study focuses on to demonstrate the importance of knowledge diffusion between the source and destination of environmental innovations. This way, policymakers can elaborate opportune strategies to improve the efficiency of innovation activities. By analyzing a sample of 240 large international firms from the USA, Japan, and Europe, this paper discusses the extent to which innovation inputs, research and development, and relative technological spillovers affect environmental innovation-that is measured by the number of waste recycle and land fertilizers patents. The novelty of the study comes from introducing a knowledge production function approach to analyze the role of technological knowledge spillovers on waste recycling and land fertilizers efficiency at the firm level. The technological relatedness between the firms is computed through technological proximity, based on the construction of technological vectors for each firm. The results reveal a significant positive impact of external spillovers on firms' environmental innovation levels. This finding is important particularly in terms of policy implications concerning industrial strategies; as in order to improve environmental innovation, incentives that favor industrial relatedness and establishing integration between firms are crucial.