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Article
Publication date: 21 February 2019

Michal Radvan

The purpose of this paper is to give a recommendation to the municipalities what local tax/taxes sensu largo (a waste charge or an immovable property tax increased by a local…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to give a recommendation to the municipalities what local tax/taxes sensu largo (a waste charge or an immovable property tax increased by a local coefficient) are to be collected to achieve expected and necessary incomes and limit the administrative costs.

Design/methodology/approach

To reach the aim, it was necessary to analyze the number of municipalities increasing the property tax by the local coefficient and abolishing the charge on communal waste to save money for the waste charges administration. The evidence of municipalities applying the local coefficient was used as a basis for the research. To get the information on charges on communal waste collected in these municipalities with the local coefficient within the past at least five taxable periods, the information from Monitor was used. If there was any such a significant change, then it was necessary to use the bylaws and to do thorough analysis of the reasons.

Findings

The hypothesis that a high number of municipalities in the Czech Republic are replacing the charge on communal waste with the local coefficient applicable for the immovable property tax was rejected. In the opinion of the author, the ideal approach is to have just one local tax – immovable property tax. This tax is administered by the state tax office and the revenue should cover the cost of waste management. Adopting only the property tax increased by the local coefficient, it is necessary to explain the benefits to the taxpayers, that is, locals and voters.

Originality/value

The research on the given topic was never done in the Czech Republic, as there is no evidence of local charges collected in individual municipalities.

Details

Journal of Financial Management of Property and Construction, vol. 24 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1366-4387

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 March 2007

Elena Moczygemba and Vesna Smaka‐Kincl

The purpose of this paper is to depict how a method of high collection and recycling rates can be easily achieved in communal solid waste management. The implementation of such a…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to depict how a method of high collection and recycling rates can be easily achieved in communal solid waste management. The implementation of such a strategy means tremendous strain relief for the budget of municipalities and the environment.

Design/methodology/approach

An integrated approach to communal solid waste management is outlined which makes it possible to achieve recycling rates of up to 69 per cent. “Integrated” refers to the integration of different aspects of sustainability, the adjustment of the conception to the habitat scale and the co‐operation with different stakeholders such as citizens and domiciled companies.

Findings

The paper gives two examples of integrated plans of communal waste management. The strategy of the City of Graz is presented, as well as the conception of the Slovene City of Maribor. In Graz, public information on measures of waste prevention and separate collection by waste advisors, and companies' training within ECOPROFIT, as well as an intelligent collection and recycling system ensure that 69 per cent of the total arising waste can be recycled and only 14 per cent of the arising waste has to be deposited. In Maribor, the total waste going into landfill in 2014 can be reduced by 71 per cent (i.e. 71 per cent of the predicted total waste in 2014) if changes in the system are made.

Originality/value

The paper describes a new method elaborated by Cleaner Production Center Austria which shows how municipalities can improve the local environment and at the same time save money by implementing a clever solid waste management strategy.

Details

Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, vol. 18 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-7835

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 August 2020

Katrien Steenmans and Rosalind Malcolm

The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact that property rights can have on the implementation of circular waste economies, in which waste is reused, recycled or…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact that property rights can have on the implementation of circular waste economies, in which waste is reused, recycled or recovered, within the European Union’s Waste Framework Directive.

Design/methodology/approach

A theoretical lens is applied to the legal definition as well as production and treatment cycle of waste to understand the property rights that can exist in waste.

Findings

This paper argues that even though different property rights regimes can apply to waste during its creation, disposal and recovery, the waste management regulatory and legal system is currently predominantly set up to support waste within classic forms of private property ownership. This tends towards commodification and linear systems, which are at odds with an approach that treats waste as a primary wanted resource rather than an unwanted by-product. It is recommended that adopting state or communal property approaches instead could affect systemic transformative change by facilitating the reconceptualisation of waste as a resource for everyone to use.

Research limitations/implications

The property rights issues are only one dimension of a bigger puzzle. The roles of social conceptualisation, norms, regulations and policies in pursuing circular strategies are only touched upon, but not fully explored in this paper. These provide other avenues that can be underpinned by certain property regimes to transition to circular economies.

Originality/value

The literature focused on property rights in waste has been very limited to date. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first to consider this question in detail from a legal perspective.

Details

Journal of Property, Planning and Environmental Law, vol. 12 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2514-9407

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 February 2009

Peter Appiah Obeng, Emmanuel A. Donkor and Anthony Mensah

The purpose of this paper is to find out and document what reforms have taken place in the institutional structure for solid waste management (SWM) in Kumasi since the inception…

1719

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to find out and document what reforms have taken place in the institutional structure for solid waste management (SWM) in Kumasi since the inception of a National Environmental Sanitation Policy (NESP) in Ghana in 1999, and what impact institutional reforms have made on solid waste collection service efficiency.

Design/methodology/approach

The study undertook a before‐and‐after assessment of key institutional issues as well as service efficiency within five years of the inception of the policy using questionnaires and interviews to collect data and information from relevant SWM stakeholders in the metropolis.

Findings

It was found that the implementation of the policy has led to changes in the organisational structure for SWM in the city with the introduction of private sector participation, which has led to improvement in efficiency in terms of service coverage and cost recovery. Service coverage increased from about 50 per cent in 1999 to an annual average of 87.4 per cent between 2000 and 2004, while the amount recovered through house‐to‐house collection services increased from 26.5 per cent of the WMD's expenditure in 2001 to 68.6 per cent in 2004.

Practical implications

The findings and recommendations can inform future SWM policy reviews and implementation in the city and elsewhere.

Originality/value

The study is the first attempt at documenting the historical evolution towards the current institutional structure and a scientific assessment of the impact of the reforms on service efficiency in Ghana.

Details

Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, vol. 20 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-7835

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 August 2013

Viktoria Voronova, Kristjan Piirimäe and Mailis Virve

This paper aims to assess the current waste management situation in Estonian municipalities and outlines the main constraints hindering the implementation of the Pay‐As‐You‐Throw…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to assess the current waste management situation in Estonian municipalities and outlines the main constraints hindering the implementation of the Pay‐As‐You‐Throw (PAYT) system into the existing waste management model.

Design/methodology/approach

Data pertaining to the treatment methods of municipal solid waste (MSW) and the ability to implement the PAYT system were gathered from 150 of the 226 local municipalities, whilst statistical data related to the amounts of MSW generated and separately collected at a municipal level were obtained from the Estonian Environmental Information Centre.

Findings

The results of the study showed that 39 per cent of the municipalities sort waste before landfilling. To increase the sorting ability of inhabitants, 43 per cent of those municipalities that responded to the questionnaire suggested enhancing awareness among people in regard to waste handling. It was found that people are not economically motivated to sort their waste due to the fact that differences in charges between separately collected and unsorted waste are negligible. It was estimated that implementing the PAYT system in one rural municipality would increase the cost of emptying containers by approximately 20‐45 per cent.

Practical implications

Results of the study can be used in countries with a comparable economic situation to improve their current economic and legislative context in the field of sustainable waste management.

Originality/value

The novelty is that the authors aimed to assess the possibility of implementation of the Pay‐As‐You‐Throw system in practice, using Estonian municipalities as a case area, including economic feasibility and willingness of stakeholders to apply the system.

Details

Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, vol. 24 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-7835

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 1990

Roger J. Sandilands

Allyn Young′s lectures, as recorded by the young Nicholas Kaldor,survey the historical roots of the subject from Aristotle through to themodern neo‐classical writers. The focus…

Abstract

Allyn Young′s lectures, as recorded by the young Nicholas Kaldor, survey the historical roots of the subject from Aristotle through to the modern neo‐classical writers. The focus throughout is on the conditions making for economic progress, with stress on the institutional developments that extend and are extended by the size of the market. Organisational changes that promote the division of labour and specialisation within and between firms and industries, and which promote competition and mobility, are seen as the vital factors in growth. In the absence of new markets, inventions as such play only a minor role. The economic system is an inter‐related whole, or a living “organon”. It is from this perspective that micro‐economic relations are analysed, and this helps expose certain fallacies of composition associated with the marginal productivity theory of production and distribution. Factors are paid not because they are productive but because they are scarce. Likewise he shows why Marshallian supply and demand schedules, based on the “one thing at a time” approach, cannot adequately describe the dynamic growth properties of the system. Supply and demand cannot be simply integrated to arrive at a picture of the whole economy. These notes are complemented by eleven articles in the Encyclopaedia Britannica which were published shortly after Young′s sudden death in 1929.

Details

Journal of Economic Studies, vol. 17 no. 3/4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3585

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 May 2013

Patience Aseweh Abor

– The paper aims to examine the healthcare waste management practices of selected hospitals in Ghana.

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Abstract

Purpose

The paper aims to examine the healthcare waste management practices of selected hospitals in Ghana.

Design/methodology/approach

The study adopted a multiple case approach, using two public and two private hospitals.

Findings

Findings indicate that both public hospitals and one private hospital have a waste management policy. Public and private hospitals have waste management plans and waste management teams. Public hospitals were found to generate more waste than the private hospitals. One private hospital and the public hospitals segregate their waste into different categories. This is done by first identifying the waste type and then separating non-infectious or general waste from infectious waste. Both public and private hospitals have internal storage facilities for temporarily storing the waste before they are finally disposed off-site. On-site transportation in the public hospitals is done by using wheelbarrows, while covered bins with wheels are used to transport waste on-site in the private hospitals. In public and private hospitals, off-site transportation of the hospital waste is undertaken by Municipal Assemblies with the use of trucks. Both public and private hospitals employ standard methods for disposing of healthcare waste.

Originality/value

The article provides insights into healthcare waste management from a Ghanaian perspective.

Details

International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, vol. 26 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0952-6862

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 March 2016

S. Oduro-Kwarteng, K. P. Anarfi and H. M.K. Essandoh

The purpose of this paper is to assess the waste characteristics and separation efficiency of source separation of household waste in low- and middle-income communities in Kumasi…

1725

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to assess the waste characteristics and separation efficiency of source separation of household waste in low- and middle-income communities in Kumasi Metropolis, Ghana.

Design/methodology/approach

A sample of 60 households participated in the household survey, education on source separation and pilot source separation exercise. The solid waste was sorted into six fractions and three recycling categories (biodegradable; paper and plastic; residue).

Findings

The mean generation rate of solid waste was 0.52±0.26 kg/per capita/day for the low-income community and 0.65±0.27 kg/per capita/day for the middle-income community. The waste fractions in the communities (low, middle income) were biodegradable organics (59.15, 65.68 per cent), plastics (11.01, 10.68 per cent), papers (3.15, 4.51 per cent), glass (0.89, 2.57 per cent), metals (0.96, 4.63 per cent) and miscellaneous (24.84, 11.93 per cent), respectively. The separation efficiency for organic category was 70 per cent, inorganic and residue was over 69 per cent and the paper and plastics was over 60 per cent.

Research limitations/implications

The study suggests that the success of source separation programme hinges on education and economic incentives. It was noted that the sample size could be increased to enhance the accuracy of the data for prediction purpose.

Practical implications

The findings showed there is potential for recycling through source separation programme in low-and middle-income communities. Public education and economic incentives are necessary for successful source separation programme.

Originality/value

The paper provides insight into source separation to contribute to better understanding of how city authorities in developing countries could take advantage of economic incentives to scale-up recycling.

Details

Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, vol. 27 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-7835

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 2006

Caroline Bekin, Marylyn Carrigan and Isabelle Szmigin

This paper aims to explore the diverse and complementary resistance and waste‐reduction practices adopted by UK‐based New Consumption Communities, and whether such behaviours…

5011

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the diverse and complementary resistance and waste‐reduction practices adopted by UK‐based New Consumption Communities, and whether such behaviours empower them to achieve their environmental and social goals.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology can be broadly classified as critical ethnography, which acknowledges the researcher's own subjectivity, how the informants are treated and represented, and the study's wider context. A participant‐observer role is employed and six distinct New Consumption Communities are explored.

Findings

It is suggested that through their resistance and empowerment, as well as a reconnection to production, the communities are able to implement alternatives to the wasteful practices of mainstream consumption behaviour, and achieve (partial) autonomy from the hegemonic forces of the market.

Originality/value

This paper's original perspective on waste is not limited to a small group of consumers, and thus should interest marketers and policy makers engaged in the advancement of sustainability and green marketing.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 26 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Government for the Future
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-852-0

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