The Economics Of Residential Solid Waste Disposal

The market of municipal solid waste (MSW) collection and disposal has changed substantially over the past thirty years. This study will help guide both newcomers and past contributors through the fundamental aspects of policies designed to reduce the external costs of MSW collection, and the important empirical relationships that, in the end, govern the selection of MSW policies. The International Library of Environmental Economics and Policy explores the influence of economics on the development of environmental and natural resource policy. In a series of twenty-five volumes, the most significant journal essays in key areas of contemporary environmental and resource policy are collected. Scholars who are recognized for their expertise and contribution to the literature in the various research areas serve as volume editors and write essays that provides the context for the collection. Volumes in the series reflect three broad strands of economic research including 1) Natural and Environmental Resources, 2) Policy Instruments and Institutions and 3) Methodology. The editors, in their introduction to each volume, provide a state-of-the-art overview of the topic and explain the influence and relevance of the collected papers on the development of policy. This reference series provides access to the economic literature that has shaped contemporary perspectives on land use analysis and policy.

Nine articles by economists Fullerton (U. of Texas-Austin) and Kinnaman (Bucknell U.), or by one or the other and another author, are reprinted from publication in journals or other anthologies between 1995 and 2000, and joined by one previously unpublished one. Among the aspects of solid waste economics they pick through are residential solid waste management, how a fee per-unit garbage affects aggregate recycling in a model with heterogeneous households, and presumptive tax and environmental subsidy. They do not provide a subject index. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

This paper provides a broad overview of recent trends in solid waste and recycling, related public policy issues, and the economics literature devoted to these topics. Public attention to solid waste and recycling has increased dramatically over the past decade both in the United States and in Europe. In response, economists have developed models to help policy makers choose the efficient mix of policy levers to regulate solid waste and recycling activities. Economists have also employed different kinds of data to estimate the factors that contribute to the generation of residential solid waste and recycling and to estimate the effectiveness of many of the policy options employed

This study examines the patterns and determinants of solid waste disposal practices adopted by various households in Dar es Salaam city, Tanzania, using household budget survey data. The study uses a Multinomial Logit (MNL) model to examine the underlying determinants of choosing ways to dispose garbage, i.e., rubbish pit inside compound, rubbish pit outside compound, rubbish bin, thrown outside and other. The descriptive results reveal that about 35% of the respondents used rubbish bin, and approximately 24% were using throwing out option. This is against the use of rubbish pit outside compound, rubbish pit inside compound and other. Estimation results of a MNL suggest that household choices of these practices are determined by a certain combination of factors such as age, education and occupation of the household head, distance to the main road, home ownership, proportions of females and family members above 45 years, expenditure per adult equivalent and municipality location. This study provides useful insights into sustainable Solid Waste Management practices in Dar es Salaam city.

The growing solid waste stream is a looming environmental problem as many communities in the United States ans Europe face a shortage of disposal capacity.

In this concise, engaging, and provocative work, Richard Porter introduces readers to the economic tools that can be applied to problems involved in handling a diverse range of waste products from business and households. Emphasizing the impossibility of achieving a zero-risk environment, Porter focuses on the choices that apply in real world decisions about waste. Acknowledging that effective waste policy integrates knowledge from several disciplines, Porter focuses on the use of economic analysis to reveal the costs of different policies and therefore how much can be done to meet goals to protect human health and the environment. With abundant examples, he considers subjects such as landfills, incineration, and illegal disposal. He discusses the international trade in waste, the costs and benefits of recycling, and special topics such as hazardous materials, Superfund, and nuclear waste. While making clear his belief that not every form of waste presents the same amount of risk, Porter stresses the need for open-minded approaches to developing new policies. For students, policymakers, and general readers, he provides insight and accessibility to a subject that others might leave out-of-sight, out-of-mind, or buried under an impenetrable prose of statistics and jargon.

Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's 4th annual report on selected solid waste economic & financial issues. Charts & tables.

Originally published in 1991. The dilemma of solid and hazardous waste disposal in an environmentally safe manner has become a global problem. This book presents a modern approach to economic and operations research modelling in urban and regional waste management with an international perspective. Location and space economics are discussed along with transportation, technology, health hazards, capacity levels, political realities and the linkage with general global economic systems. The algorithms and models developed are then applied to two major cities in the world by way of case study example of the use of these systems.