Title: [GreenYes] Re: "total recycling" isn't Zero Waste... and who are they fooling here anyway?
Thanks Eric - here's another link for the Lancashire example:
http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/corporate/web/view.asp?siteid=3306&pageid=8753&e=e
Yes, source separation is the obvious route; underused in the UK due
to government's view that managing residual waste means technology,
and that delivering the technology means Private Finance Initiative
contracts (which allow public views to be ignored). At national and
County levels there is rarely any mention that residual waste can be
managed in large part by progressively recycling and composting more.
Funding for waste services and technical advice on waste are
centralised so Councils are herded towards PFI-based technical
'solutions'.
This situation presents an interesting challenge for Pigouvian fees.
What happens when governments don't have the vision, will or technical
competence to recognise a sustainable waste strategy? How could they
possibly design the economic vehicles to get us there? It would seem
that (in Europe at least) we have Pigouvian corrections exactly
consistent with government vision and fondness of central control.
GreenYes members may enjoy this review of European Union thinking on
market-based instruments, http://www.blindspot.org.uk/EU_MBI_review.html
which presents the typical governmental approach and some of the
issues this overlooks. For example in government there is not even an
awareness (as posted by Neil Seldman) that the same pollution pricing
scheme might apply to both climate and waste issues.
Interesting discussion about cap and trade vs cap and tax. Could also
consider whether taxes (or other forms of Pigouvian fees) when
reinvested in making less wasteful choices cheaper could make capping
redundant. Sustainably reformed markets might turn out to be more
powerful than political constraints on unsustainable markets. Given
that the international political process has seen 15 years pass
without any global emissions cuts we may find that market reforms
could also work faster.
Best wishes
James Greyson
On Nov 7, 8:54 pm, "Eric Lombardi" <e...@no.address> wrote:
> 'Total recycling' aims to make landfill history
> A company that has patented its new recycling process is the commercial face
> of a trend towards "zero waste", in which every last gram of rubbish is reused
>
> I feel like repeating a new version of that old Clinton Campaign slogan .
> "It's Source Separation Stupid!"
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