Subsidies in waste management: Effective instruments or a cul-de-sac of European structural policies?

摘要

The key document of European waste management policy is Directive 1999/31/EC on landfills. Especially landfill taxes, municipal charges and fees, and recycling subsidies are used to reduce the amount of biodegradable municipal waste (BMW) going to landfills. In the last decade, focus on subsidies has substantially increased in the European Union. As a market-based instrument, subsidies change the relative prices of alternative waste treatment methods, and they should therefore provide incentives for the effective treatment of BMW (e.g. recycling, composting, or anaerobic digestion) in EU member states.