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The Impact of Pay-As-You-Throw Schemes on Municipal Solid Waste Management: The Exemplar Case of the County of Aschaffenburg, Germany

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  • Juergen Morlok

    (County of Aschaffenburg, Aschaffenburg D-63739, Germany)

  • Harald Schoenberger

    (E 3 Environmental Consultants Ltd, Aberdeen AB118DY, UK
    Institut für Siedlungswasserbau, Wasserguete- und Abfallwirtschaft, Universitaet Stuttgart, Stuttgart D-70569, Germany)

  • David Styles

    (E 3 Environmental Consultants Ltd, Aberdeen AB118DY, UK
    School of Environment, Natural Resources and Geography, Bangor University, Bangor, LL572UW, UK)

  • Jose-Luis Galvez-Martos

    (E 3 Environmental Consultants Ltd, Aberdeen AB118DY, UK
    School of Engineering, University of Aberdeen, King’s College, Old Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB243UE, UK)

  • Barbara Zeschmar-Lahl

    (BZL Kommunikation und Projektsteuerung GmbH, Oyten D-28876, Germany)

Abstract

The “pay-as-you-throw” (PAYT) scheme is an economic instrument for waste management that applies the “polluter pays” principle by charging the inhabitants of municipalities according to the amount of residual, organic, and bulky waste they send for third-party waste management. When combined with well-developed infrastructure to collect the different waste fractions (residual waste, paper and cardboard, plastics, bio waste, green cuttings, and many recyclables) as well as with a good level of citizens’ awareness, its performance has frequently been linked to an increase in the collection rates of recyclables. However, the establishment and operation of PAYT systems can require significant resource inputs from municipalities. In this paper, PAYT is analysed through a case study from the German County of Aschaffenburg, covering nearly 20 years of implementation across 32 municipalities with 173,000 inhabitants. Key performance indicators include temporal trends in the county’s recyclables collection rate, waste treatment fees for residents, and municipal waste management costs, benchmarked against German municipalities not implementing PAYT. We conclude that PAYT could make an important contribution towards material reuse and recycling objectives for the new circular economy.

Suggested Citation

  • Juergen Morlok & Harald Schoenberger & David Styles & Jose-Luis Galvez-Martos & Barbara Zeschmar-Lahl, 2017. "The Impact of Pay-As-You-Throw Schemes on Municipal Solid Waste Management: The Exemplar Case of the County of Aschaffenburg, Germany," Resources, MDPI, vol. 6(1), pages 1-16, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jresou:v:6:y:2017:i:1:p:8-:d:89588
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Dijkgraaf, E. & Gradus, R. H. J. M., 2004. "Cost savings in unit-based pricing of household waste: The case of The Netherlands," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 353-371, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Marija Hadzi-Nikolova & Gorgi Dimov & Dejan Mirakovski & Afrodita Zendelska & Nikolinka Doneva & Vasko Zlatkovski & Angeliki Maragkaki & Akrivi Papadaki & G. Sabathianakis & Manios Thrassyvoulos & Kat, 2022. "Biowaste Management and Circular Economy: Usage of Pay as you Throw System and Autonomous Composting Units in Municipality of Probishtip," Circular Economy and Sustainability,, Springer.
    2. Massimo Beccarello & Giacomo Di Foggia, 2022. "Sustainable Development Goals Data-Driven Local Policy: Focus on SDG 11 and SDG 12," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-11, November.
    3. Karin Meisterl & Sergio Sastre & Ignasi Puig-Ventosa & Rosaria Chifari & Laura Martínez Sánchez & Laurène Chochois & Gabriella Fiorentino & Amalia Zucaro, 2024. "Circular Bioeconomy in the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona: Policy Recommendations to Optimize Biowaste Management," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-22, January.
    4. Di Foggia, Giacomo & Beccarello, Massimo, 2023. "Designing circular economy-compliant municipal solid waste management charging schemes," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).

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