The impact assessment of different fee systems on the municipal waste management effectiveness

Abstract

The most widespread monetary motivation in the municipal waste management is a pay-as-you-throw (PAYT) or unit-based pricing scheme when fees are directly based on the volume of waste produced by a household. This approach forces the households to carry the full social costs of their waste disposal decisions, inducing more efficient choices. Volume-based schemes usually require households to purchase waste bags or stickers (tokens) that they can attach to their waste containers. The aim of our research was to assess the waste management system in the municipality of Dolný Ohaj, where different payment systems for municipal solid waste (MSW) charges were introduced during the monitored period (2012-2016). While a lump sum had been used in the municipality up to the end of 2014, a volume-based scheme in a form of the token system was introduced and applied in the municipality from the beginning of 2015 onwards. The main focus was to analyse the waste management of the municipality during the studied period 2012-2016 with the emphasis on municipal solid waste fees, the generation of MSW and residual fraction, municipal waste management revenues and expenditures as well as evaluation of economic results. The production of MSW in kilograms per person had decreasing tendency during the monitored period. The highest MSW production was observed in 2012 (262.68 kg.capita^-1.year^-1) and the lowest in 2016 (175.85 kg.capita^-1.year^-1). During the monitored period, also the amount of landfilled residual waste was decreasing. In 2016, the lowest quantity of landfilled MSW (237,150 kg) was recorded. The municipality reached noticeably better economic results in waste management during the period under the volume-based waste collection scheme.