Re: [GreenYes] Recycling economics

["Wayne Turner" <WAYNET@cityofws.org>]

Excellent question, Eric.  And, how do Canadian landfill tips fees compare with their southern counterparts?  I've had this discussion with my carpool driver who just so happens to be the landfill manager here where I work.  I found it interesting recently when I was speaking to a gentleman from Strasbourg France about his ambition to open a restaurant here in the US.  When I asked him why he preferred to open it here instead of in his home country of France, he stated, "If you want to run a business, open it in a country that is strongly supprtive of businesses.  Taxes are much too high in France."


B. Wayne Turner
City of Winston-Salem
Utilities Division
phone: (336) 727 8418
email: waynet@cityofws.org

>>> Eric Lombardi <eric@ecocycle.org> 08/06/02 06:36PM >>>
Michele,

Why are European landfill rates so high?  Is it a pure market rate that
reflects a scarcity of landfills and/or extremely high land prices?  Or, as
I suspect, is it a reflection of a social policy to add "landfill use taxes"
of some sort?  If so, how much of these rates that you cite are market and
how much tax?

Eric Lombardi
Eco-Cycle

-----Original Message-----
From: Michele Raymond <michele@raymond.com>
To: Greenyes@grrn.org <Greenyes@grrn.org>
Date: Monday, August 05, 2002 9:42 AM
Subject: [GreenYes] Recycling economics


>
>Economics are difficult for recycling because landfilling is too cheap.
>
>Either:
>A. governments must see it as another service to be paid for
>B. landfill costs must rise
>
>Recycling is not a money-maker, unless your tip fees are high, or there is
>a big demand for the material.
>
>If landfills were designed to truly NOT leak in the future, then tip fees
>would be closer to $100/ton and  recycling would be more economic.
>
>In Europe, landfill tip fees are $100 - $300 a ton -- so even without the
>EPR mandates, there would be quite a bit of recycling, at least of the
>traditional materials and beverage containers.  Moreover, they have a
>landfill directive that will require a reduction of 75% of degradable waste
>going to landfills eventually -- pre-treatment will be required.
>
>Of interest, the latest amendments to the packaging directive indicate
>there needs to be some economic incentive for companies to use recycled
>plastics, and that governments need to start purchasing recycled products
>-- issues the US has been working on for a long time -- without the big
hammer.
>
>Cheers
>Michele Raymond
>
>Michele Raymond
>Publisher
>Recycling Laws International/ State Recycling Laws Update
>5111 Berwyn Rd. Ste 115 College Park, MD 20740)
>301/345-4237   Fax 345-4768
>http://www.raymond.com 
>
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