Economic Feasibility of Waste Separation at Source: Case Study of Neighborhoods in Haifa, Israel

摘要

In January, 2013, the city of Haifa instituted a wet (food)/dry source separation pilotprogram in two neighborhoods with 1,624 households. In 2014, seven additional neighborhoodswill join the project, totaling 12,663 households. In subsequent years, approximately 10,000households per year will be added, until the entire city separates waste at the source.An existing economic model, intended for use in all local authorities in Israel, wasmodified to reflect the specific circumstances of Haifa. The model considers both internal (paidby local authority) and external (paid by residents or society) costs and benefits of managingwaste. Costs include time contribution of residents, allocation of additional equipment, and costsrelated to collection and transportation of waste (including pollution). Benefits include financialincentives under Israel’s Landfill Levy and Packaging Law.Cost estimations were calculated for several municipal waste management scenarios,including with and without source separation, only the two pilot neighborhoods, the additionalseven neighborhoods, the entire city, and weekly and biweekly collection of wet waste.The results indicate that source separation can result in cost savings, primarily becauseof the economic incentives of the Landfill Levy and Packaging Law. It was, therefore,concluded that national mandates can successfully influence local authorities to manage MSW ina more environmentally beneficial manner.