Policy patterns and regimes:analysis of European waste policiesPreliminary results from the ESTO waste project commissioned by IPTS

GIN conference: A clear route to Sustainability? July 2-6, 2006

Ulrik Jørgensen, professorDepartment of Manufacturing Engineering and ManagementTechnical University of Denmark

Background

• waste prevention policies and their impact on innovation

• inter-relations between innovation and waste creation

• waste policies are not standing alone, other areas of policy may have adverse effects

• implementation is often more important for impacts than the policy objectives as such

• difficulties in singling out a determined relationship between policy as input and impacts as output

• innovation is a broad and weakly defined field of activities

Waste prevention – the hierarchy

• OECD definitions also used by the EC

• Critical boundary between re-use and recycling: “Product re-use involves the multiple use of a product in its original form, for its original purpose or for an alternative, with or without reconditioning”

Strict avoidance

Reduction at source

Product re-use Recycling Incineration Incineration Landfilling

Waste Prevention

Waste disposal

Waste Products/Materials

Waste Minimisation

Policy analysis rationalized - DPSIR

• DPSIR = Drivers, Pressure, State, Impact, Response

• indicator model used by a.o. the European Environment Agency

• the P-S-I part form the outset and are typically covered by some technical indicators

• whereas the D-R part of the model is a rational projection onto policy and economy with limited empirical support

• difficult to produce relevant indicators improving and supporting policies

Policy patterns

• coordinated policies, not single measures have impacts

• coherent policies support the overall objectives, conflicting policies weakens results

• policy styles at national or sector level, choice of instruments, flexibility, timing, consensus

• model arguments dominate economic instruments but have weak empirical foundation

• sustained effort and long term objectives are important

• institutional contexts, structure of actors and their relations, competence of regulating bodies form the core

Policy instruments 1

Policies directed towards materials use and design:• charges on virgin resource, energy use

• product or material bans

• announced policies for phasing out, objectives, and priorities

Policies directed towards the resulting waste stream:• charges for by-product or waste streams from production

• mandatory waste handling and management procedures

• conditions for environmental licence to operate (like IPPC)

• voluntary agreements with government recognition

• charges and taxes on waste streams

Policy instruments 2

Policies directed towards product quality:• design prescriptions and eco-design (product-service-systems)

• producer responsibility legally defined and take-back

• support and grants for cleaner technologies, building knowledge, research

• creation of test and up-scaling facilities for complex technologies

• energy labeling and other forms of mandatory or voluntary schemes

• incentives for use of environmental management systems

• information support and information campaigns

• prescriptions for green (public) procurement and purchasing

Policy regimes

• the institutional network of knowledge production and policy implementation

• environmental objects and their translation

• the institutional setup defines the organization, the interaction, and the responsibilities for implementation

• professional knowledge involved in defining the objects of regulation and the ‘street level’ practices and routines

• institutional frameworks create stability and replication of policy measures (frozen styles)

Innovations and policy influence

• innovation refers to a variety of settings

• companies are often seen as most important

• environmental innovations include new perspectives on product-service systems and supply chains

• integration of new actors important

• waste has low priority and is often not visible in research and design

• innovation policies’ dominant focus is on competitiveness

• continued re-engineering and domestication is as important

Case selected for analysis - focus

• Product – Electronics: producer responsibility, and take back (RoHS, WEEE) – car take back policies

• Material – PVC: use and substitution and additives – including policy controversies and stakeholder activities

• Waste stream – Packaging materials: bottles, plastic bags, etc. – take back and recycling options

• Consumption – Textile products: including design policies and influencing product chains

• Sector – Building materials: including the problems of redefining waste streams

• fossil fuels and waste chemical production not included

PVC – an ongoing controversy

• dioxin and free chlorine staging the controversy

• search for substitution to reach to a ban of PVC or at least of certain uses, still no overall policy defined

• new environmental objects: heavy metals in stabilizers, phthalates as plasticizers, bromide in flame retardants

• incineration sets a separate problem, acidification

• strong lobbying activity from industry due to chlorine as by-product and PVC’s multifunctional use

• weak policies and lots of diverse innovations, substitution, decomposition, additives, re-use

Electronics – regulatory diversity

• electronics waste a new problem, no longer ‘garden industry’, growth, and pervasive character of integration

• 4% of household waste, but triple growth

• RoHS regulating the use of heavy metals and additives etc.

• WEEE defining a producer responsibility, though only for the handling of waste

• shipment rules, ban on export of waste (Basel convention)

• sustained policy, traditional regulation most efficient, producer responsibility not for design, but for covering costs

Textiles, packaging, and building materials

• textiles: focus on dyes, chemicals, pesticides, eco-design, labeling, but little on waste and consumption

• waste policies have only limited impacts on a major part of the products for consumption

• packaging: recycling was influential for especially bottles for a period of time, but weakening, PVC almost phased out, some reduction based on waste charges

• building materials: redefinition of waste has major impacts supported by waste charges, growing problems with plastics, composite materials etc. lack of focus on LCA in building constructions and eco-design in construction