Thematic session: Waste, resources & circular economy
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This presentation was given at IEEP's capacity building for environmental tax reform conference on 5 October 2017 in Brussels, Belgium. Speaker: Sarah Ettlinger
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Thematic session: Waste, resources & circular economy
- 1. www.ieep.eu @IEEP_eu Thematic session: Waste, resources and circular economy Sarah Ettlinger (Eunomia Research & Consulting) 5 October 2017, Committee of the Regions, Rue Belliard 99/101, Brussels Final conference: Capacity building for environmental tax reform
- 2. www.ieep.eu @IEEP_eu • Improving resource efficiency and creating a circular economy – not just about managing waste • And, sustainable use of raw materials Waste, resources & circular economy: issues & challenges 6.7bn tonnes (EU, 2015) 2.5 bn tonnes (EU, 2012) Total material consumption Total waste generation 37% recycled
- 3. www.ieep.eu @IEEP_eu Waste, resources & circular economy: instruments used • Waste taxes: ‒ Landfill tax and ban ‒ Incineration tax. • Pay-as-you-throw (PAYT) • Product-specific: ‒ Packaging tax ‒ Product fee ‒ Deposit refund scheme ‒ Plastic bag levy • Mineral aggregates taxes • Natural resource taxes and charges
- 4. www.ieep.eu @IEEP_eu Waste, resources & circular economy: instruments used Case studies: Instrument type Member State(s) Packaging tax or charge Belgium, Latvia, Romania, Finland Landfill tax Austria (incl. ban), Greece, UK Pay-as-you-throw scheme Benelux Deposit refund scheme Finland Plastic bag levy Ireland Products tax (with PRO) Lithuania Natural resource extraction tax UK, Estonia, Finland (peat)
- 5. www.ieep.eu @IEEP_eu Waste, resources & circular economy: revenues, effectiveness & efficiency • Revenue use – environment funds: ‒ Mostly for related and specific environmental problem ‒ May help to soften public opinion, but rarely the reason a tax becomes politically acceptable. ‒ Examples: UK landfill tax, Romanian packaging charge, Irish plastic bags levy, Austrian landfill tax • Rarely explicit tax shift, though this can help argument for decision-makers in finance ministries ‒ Example: UK landfill tax
- 6. www.ieep.eu @IEEP_eu Waste, resources & circular economy: revenues, effectiveness & efficiency 0 25 50 75 100 125 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 2000=100 LevyRate(£/tonnes) Years Aggregates Levy and Intensity of Use of Primary Aggregates Aggregates Levy Rate Primary aggregates use per unit of Construction Output Primary aggregates use per unit of GDP
- 7. www.ieep.eu @IEEP_eu Waste, resources & circular economy: stakeholder & civil society engagement
- 8. www.ieep.eu @IEEP_eu Waste, resources & circular economy: the way forward • Key arguments & discussion points for political acceptability: ‒ Link to specific environmental goals (national or local); not likely to be revenue raising ‒ Effective instrument Fair, with opportunity to develop sustainable alternative behaviour Policy mix and package of measures to nudge towards behaviour Revenue use – for public support, leads to desired behaviour • Civil society: ‒ Seek and create opportunities to contribute: Campaign on environmental issue, set up stakeholder discussion groups, respond to public consultation, evaluate and analyse impacts ‒ Engage as early as possible
- 9. www.ieep.eu @IEEP_eu Case study presentations • Case study 1: Finnish deposit refund system – Pasi Nurminen (PALPA) • Case study 2: Belgian pay-as-you-throw (PAYT) schemes – John Wante (OVAM)
Editor's Notes
- Total material consumption 13 tonnes per person, EU 2015. In 2012, total waste generation in the EU was over 2.5 billion tonnes , representing almost 37% of material consumption. Around 213 million tonnes of waste was generated by households .
- Revenue use only relevant for taxes and levies. Rarely introduced as revenue raising. Only landfill taxes have significant potential to raise revenue. Natural resource taxes to a lesser extent. Others are very minor only.
- Lots of environmental benefits, though often hard to attribute exactly to tax/charge. UK landfill: 50 mtpa (01/02) to 12 mtpa (15/16) AT landfill and ban: from 60% to less than 10% landfilling PALPA: 59 -> 90% rr on cans, 1996-2009. Irish plastic bag levy: 5% in litter (2001) to 0.13% in 2015. Others unclear, due to other activities or step changes in impact that don’t reflect rate changes: BE Packaging and environmental charges, RO packaging charge. UK Aggs levy and landfill tax – likely both responsible for the reduction in chart.
- Engagement throughout policy cycle. Few highlighted examples of successful engagement that has impacted implementation of instrument or alternative behaviour. Overall messages on engagement: Public institutions/NGO support -> information to public -> public’s support. Key for instruments targeting public behaviour change, e.g. PAYT, DRS, plastic bag levy. Stakeholder discussions, organised by govt -> business and LA support of instruments -> more likely desired behaviour change for businesses, e.g. AT landfill tax Direct lobbying – rarely key to introduction Early engagement, more likely to lead to involvement throughout rest of policy cycle, e.g. M&E.