The Eco-Fee Imbroglio: Lessons from Ontario’s Troubled Experiment in Charging for Waste Management

Charging for the life cycle cost of waste management is contentious. The recent example of some retailers charging “eco-fees” in Ontario, with respect to sales of household products such as detergent, batteries and fluorescent light bulbs, is a case in point. However, the Ontario program for municipal waste, which the provincial government has partially abandoned, is just one example of the movement known as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), which is spreading across the country and to many products. As in numerous other jurisdictions, Canadian provinces have imposed, or are considering, similar EPR programs for products such as tires, electronics and countless other goods. This Commentary uses lessons from Ontario’s waste programs to examine EPR’s potential attractions – when such programs are properly designed.Economic Growth and Innovation, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), Ontario, Canada, eco-fees, waste management life cycle cost

THE WEEE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM IN ROMANIA. DIMENSION, STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

Management systems for waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) have modernized as countries have accumulated experience. They are characterized by a profound dynamism because of the alert pace of growth of waste quantities which have been generated, but also because of the continuous diversification of the range of electronic equipment sold as an effect of the technical progress evolution and of the living standards of population growth. In Romania, the emergence and the development of WEEE management system has been stimulated by the need to align to the European Commission stipulations as a result of the integration into the European Union in 2007. In this context the present paper examines the strengths and weaknesses of WEEE management system in Romania.Romania, Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment – WEEE, management, weakness, strengths.

Moving up the Waste Hierarchy in Maine: Learning from “Best Practice” State-Level Policy for Waste Reduction and Recovery

As Maine residents look toward the future, it is increasingly clear that more sustainable waste and materials management solutions will be necessary. A recent stakeholder engagement process involving nearly 200 industry professionals, municipal representatives and citizen groups confirmed this point. As we move together toward a more sustainable waste management system, participants in the engagement process identified an outstanding need to learn more about policies options. This article responds to that need with a review of state level policies designed to reduce waste generation and increase material recovery rates. We find there are a wide variety of state-level policy tools available, each of which involves a series of complex tradeoffs to balance decision criteria ranging from diversion potential and cost to social acceptability and environmental protection. While there is no magic formula, it is clear that the most successful state-level programs are those that utilize a variety of tools, selected as part of a comprehensive and data-driven long term planning process

Economic Instruments and Induced Innovation: The Case of End-of-Life Vehicles European Policies

The paper addresses the dynamic-incentive effect of environmental policy instruments when innovation is uncertain and occurs in very complex industrial subsystems. The case of end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) is considered focusing predominantly on the effects of the European Directive adopted in 2000 which stipulated economic instruments as free take-back, and on the voluntary agreements in place in many EU countries. The ELV case study is an example of a framework where policy-making faces an intrinsic dynamic and systemic environment. Coherent sequences of single innovations taking place in both upstream (car making) and downstream (car recycling/recovery) of the ELV system can give rise to different “innovation paths”, in accordance with cost-benefit considerations, technological options and capabilities associated to the different industrial actors involved. The impact of economic instruments on innovation paths, in particular free take-back, is considered. Deficiencies or difficulties concerning the transmission of incentives between different industries can prevent the creation of new recycling/recovery/reuse markets, giving rise to other less preferable and unexpected outcomes. The implication for policy is a need for an integrated policy approach, as enforceable VAs, in order to create a shared interindustry interest for innovation and to reduce the possible adverse effects which economic instruments exert on innovation through cost benefit impacts on key industrial and waste-related agents involved in the ELV management system. These advantages should be taken into account vis à vis the emergence of Integrated Product Policy (IPP) as a leading concept of EU environmental policy and the associated shift from "extended producer responsibility" to "extended product responsibility".ELV, Induced innovation, Dynamic efficiency, Economic instruments, Recycling

Modeling the Costs and Environmental Benefits of Disposal Options for End-of-Life Electronic Equipment: The Case of Used Computer Monitors

Managing the growing quantity of used electronic equipment poses challenges for waste management officials. In this paper, we focus on a large component of the electronic waste stream—computer monitors—and the disposal concerns associated with the lead embodied in cathode ray tubes (CRTs) used in most monitors. We develop a policy simulation model of consumers’ disposal options based on the costs of these options and their associated environmental impacts. For the stock of monitors disposed of in the United States in 1998, our preliminary findings suggest that bans on some disposal options would increase disposal costs from about $1 per monitor to between$3 and $20 per monitor. Policies to promote a modest amount of recycling of monitor parts, including lead, can be less expensive. In both cases, the costs of the policies exceed the value of the avoided health effects of CRT disposal.end-of-life electronics, waste stream, cost-benefit analysis

Moving up the Waste Hierarchy in Maine: Learning from “Best Practice” State-Level Policy for Waste Reduction and Recovery

As Maine residents look toward the future, it is increasingly clear that more sustainable waste and materials management solutions will be necessary. A recent stakeholder engagement process involving nearly 200 industry professionals, municipal representatives and citizen groups confirmed this point. As we move together toward a more sustainable waste management system, participants in the engagement process identified an outstanding need to learn more about policies options. This article responds to that need with a review of state level policies designed to reduce waste generation and increase material recovery rates. We find there are a wide variety of state-level policy tools available, each of which involves a series of complex tradeoffs to balance decision criteria ranging from diversion potential and cost to social acceptability and environmental protection. While there is no magic formula, it is clear that the most successful state-level programs are those that utilize a variety of tools, selected as part of a comprehensive and data-driven long term planning process

Transplanting EU waste law:The European waste electrical and electronic equipment directives as a source of inspiration to Brazilian law and policy

What are the legal instruments and policy choices producing improvements in e-waste management strategies worldwide? Could they be used from one legal system to another? The EU’s tradition of focusing on waste management and setting goals and responsibilities for all stakeholders involved in products life-cycle is remarkable. Its progress in policy and legal instruments on the field throughout the years represent a source of inspiration to other jurisdictions outside the European Union. At the same time, there have been developments in Brazilian law on the topic of waste management through the National Policy on Solid Waste (NPSW), Brazil’s most recent Act, the NPSW is a mark of progress, specifying priority waste streams and demanding well-structured and implemented take-back systems. Nonetheless, there have been considerable difficulties with moving further. This book studies and analyses the process of drafting and implementing the WEEE Directives in the European member states (MS) with the aim of identifying key policy and legal instruments that have contributed to fully working national WEEE systems. Supported by the Legal Transplants Theory it verifies the possibility for a jurisdiction to inspire others and, points out which lessons could be learned from the European experience that could contribute to the development of the corresponding laws in Brazil