scholarly journals Market Structure of Urban Waste Treatment and Disposal: Empirical Evidence from the Italian Industry

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giacomo Di Foggia ◽  
Massimo Beccarello

In light of the organizational dynamics of services of economic interest, the regulation of municipal solid waste management is a critical issue to deal with so as to achieve sustainability goals in the coming decades. The European circular economy targets limit the share of municipal waste in landfills to a maximum of 10% by 2035. Consequently, waste-to-energy plants may temporarily become the primary option for residual unsorted waste. The municipal waste management chain comprises two consequential stages: collection and transport, and the treatment and disposal stage, which characterizes as an oligopolistic market structure. After defining the relevant market and calculating market concentration measures, we analyze market power in the treatment and disposal of non-recyclable mixed waste, also known as residual waste. Our analyses are based on empirical data using well-known market concentration indices such as the Herfindahl–Hirschman index and concentration ratios. We report the results of three different market concentration scenarios based on alternative geographic and product market definitions. Considering only waste-to-energy as a product market, we present a situation of moderate concentration, typically involving the attention of competition authorities. On the contrary, considering both options as a single product market, no relevant evidence emerges due to the significant share of waste sent to landfills in 2019, i.e., 20.1% of the total municipal solid waste generated in Italy. Implications for future studies consist of new detailed information on the municipal waste treatment market structure in one of the leading European countries that may prompt comparative studies. Policy implications are derived from the possibility of taking cues from this paper to envisage appropriate regulatory models for an evolving sector in which market spaces are increasing.

Author(s):  
Kriti Jain ◽  
Chirag Shah

The increasing volume and complexity of waste associated with the modern economy as due to the ranging population, is posing a serious risk to ecosystems and human health. Every year, an estimated 11.2 billion tonnes of solid waste is collected worldwide and decay of the organic proportion of solid waste is contributing about 5 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions (UNEP). Poor waste management - ranging from non-existing collection systems to ineffective disposal causes air pollution, water and soil contamination. Open and unsanitary landfills contribute to contamination of drinking water and can cause infection and transmit diseases. The dispersal of debris pollutes ecosystems and dangerous substances from waste or garbage puts a strain on the health of urban dwellers and the environment. India, being second most populated country of the world that too with the lesser land area comparatively, faces major environmental challenges associated with waste generation and inadequate waste collection, transport, treatment and disposal. Population explosion, coupled with improved life style of people, results in increased generation of solid wastes in urban as well as rural areas of the country. The challenges and barriers are significant, but so are the opportunities. A priority is to move from reliance on waste dumps that offer no environmental protection, to waste management systems that retain useful resources within the economy [2]. Waste segregation at source and use of specialized waste processing facilities to separate recyclable materials has a key role. Disposal of residual waste after extraction of material resources needs engineered landfill sites and/or investment in waste-to-energy facilities. This study focusses on the minimization of the waste and gives the brief about the various initiations for proper waste management system. Hence moving towards the alternatives is the way to deal with these basic problems. This paper outlines various advances in the area of waste management. It focuses on current practices related to waste management initiatives taken by India. The purpose of this article put a light on various initiatives in the country and locates the scope for improvement in the management of waste which will also clean up the unemployment.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 3517
Author(s):  
Lien Thi Kim Trinh ◽  
Allen H. Hu ◽  
Song Toan Pham Phu

Municipal solid waste management is an environmental issue that has received considerable attention from researchers and environmental managers for decades. Supporting the management programs entail policies and regulations related to municipal solid waste. In developed countries, the implementation of environmental policies plays an important role and has a substantial impact on the effectiveness of solid waste management. However, in many developing countries such as Vietnam, the situation and effectiveness of the policy implementation have not been studied extensively. This investigation is conducted to ascertain the situation, limitations, and challenges in implementing solid waste management policy in Vietnam. Then, solutions for the problems and improvements for implementation efficiency are presented. This work used online questionnaires to survey environmental managers in different localities and applied qualitative research method to analyze data. The results show that not all national policies on solid waste management are implemented in all localities. Waste separation is also the foremost concern in municipal waste management in most localities of Vietnam. Most of the localities claimed that the unrealistic nature and difficult implementation of the policies and the lack of needed resources are the main limitations and challenges in Vietnam. Survey results also revealed that different localities in Vietnam have different solutions to increase policy implementation efficiency. Besides, the study also found similarities in the implementation of policies in solid waste management between Vietnam and some other countries and also gathered some valuable lessons for the improvement strategy. Finally, the implementation of an effective domestic solid waste management policy is an important platform for improving environmental quality and ensuring the sustainable development of the nation and mankind.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 3939
Author(s):  
Krzysztof Pikoń ◽  
Nikolina Poranek ◽  
Adrian Czajkowski ◽  
Beata Łaźniewska-Piekarczyk

The purpose of the study presented in this text is to show the influence of COVID-19 on waste management systems and circular economy stream, and their impact on circular economy, particularly the economic impact of the pandemic on the waste management sector, impact on circular economy objectives’ implementation as well as additional challenges like the need for hygienization of waste streams during different implementation efforts, such as changes in the municipal solid waste market and different waste processes of their disposal. Additionally, some methods—such as thermal treatment—which seemed to be not fully aligned with the circular economy approach have advantages not taken into account before. Incineration of higher volume of waste affects the waste structure and will change some of the circular economy objectives. The analysis was carried out on the example of the Polish market.


2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 90
Author(s):  
Berliana Anggun Septiani ◽  
Dian Mita Arianie ◽  
Via Fide Aditya Andi Risman ◽  
Widhi Handayani ◽  
Istiarsi Saptuti Sri Kawuryan

The increase of solid waste production is a general problem in municipality, particularly of plastic waste. The durability, light-weight, anticorrosiveness, and inexpensiveness properties of plastic make it favorable to be used in daily life, including in Salatiga. However, plastic is one of some non-biodegradable materials that could lead to soil and water pollution as it contains toxic compounds such as aromatic hydrocarbons, phthalates, and organochlorine. Various studies in municipal solid waste management have been conducted. While those studies often applied various approaches separately, researches in regard to the role of stakeholders in municipal solid waste management are very limited. This study aims to explain the plastic waste management in Salatiga based on the role of the corresponding stakeholders. This qualitative study shows that there are four stakeholders who were involved in municipal plastic waste management in Salatiga. They were the households who generate wastes, the scavengers who sorts the wastes, Bank Sampah and collectors who have the same role in order to collect the wastes and treat the plastic wastes through reusing or recycling processes, and the government. Currently, efforts in waste treatment in Salatiga are focused on the system of collecting-tranferring-disposal mode, waste treatment by reuse and recycle processing, and landfilling. Reducing plastic consumption must take into account the sociocultural aspect and environmental awareness, as the people still interested to use plastic instead of using other materials in substitution. Finally, the role of government is central to educate the community in term of sorting activities and reducing waste production, build the capacity of Bank Sampah, and manage the role of scavengers and collectors. Other alternatives include creating synergy between the collectors and Bank Sampah, as well as ensuring final treatment of the unprocessed wastes disposed by collectors and Bank Sampah. 


2019 ◽  
Vol 90 ◽  
pp. 01007
Author(s):  
Farizal ◽  
Tammarar Ekky

This study determines the tipping fee of municipal solid waste in the city of Depok. Two methods used to determine the fee were the income and outcome approach, and the limited resource approach. Two conditions were assumed (i.e., waste management and landfill gas bioreactor availability). From the results, the ideal tipping fee was 97,704 IDR/tonne and the application of a landfill gas reactor could boost income, thus reduced the amount of the fee collected, especially in the early years of the landfill bioreactor in operation. The fees were 40,032 and 63,337 IDR/tonne for scenario 1 and 2, respectively.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (14) ◽  
pp. 5711
Author(s):  
Laith A. Hadidi ◽  
Ahmed Ghaithan ◽  
Awsan Mohammed ◽  
Khalaf Al-Ofi

The need for resilience and an agile waste management system in Saudi Arabia is vital to control safely the rapid growth of its municipal solid waste (MSW) with minimal environment toll. Similarly, the domestic energy production in Saudi Arabia is thriving and putting a tremendous pressure on its huge reserves of fossil oil. Waste to energy (WTE) plants provides a golden opportunity for Saudi Arabia; however, both challenges (MSW mitigation and energy production) are usually looked at in isolation. This paper at first explores the potential of expanding the WTE energy production in the eastern province in Saudi Arabia under two scenarios (complete mass burn with and without recycling). Secondly, this study analyzes the effect of 3Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle) practices implementation in a residential camp (11,000 population) to influence the behavior of the camp’s citizens to reduce their average waste (kg/capita). The results of the 3R-WTE framework show a potential may reach 254 Megawatt (MW) of electricity by year 2030. The 3R system implementation in the camp reduced MSW production from 5,625 tons to 3000 tons of household waste every year, which is considered lower than what the surrounding communities to be produced in the same area.


2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 441-449
Author(s):  
Riham A. Mohsen ◽  
Bassim Abbassi ◽  
Animesh Dutta ◽  
David Gordon

More light is being shed continually on the environmental impacts of municipal solid waste due to the increasing amounts of waste generated and the related greenhouse gas emissions. Emissions from MSW account for 20% of Canadian greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and accordingly, waste legislation in Ontario demands high waste recovery and a moving towards a circular economy. This study evaluates the current municipal solid waste management in the City of Guelph and assesses possible alternative scenarios based on the associated GHG emissions. Waste Reduction Model (WARM) that was developed by the US-EPA has been used to quantify the GHG emissions produced over the entire life cycle of the MSW management scenario. Sensitivity analysis was also conducted to investigate the influence of some scenarios on the overall GHG emissions. It has been found that one ton of landfilled waste generates approximately 0.39 ton of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2Eq). It was also found that the current solid waste scenario has a saving of 36086 million ton of CO2Eq (MCO2Eq). However, the results showed that the scenario with enhanced waste-to-energy, reduction at source and recycling has resulted in a high avoided emissions (0.74 kg CO2Eq/kg MSW). The anaerobic Digestion scenario caused the lowest avoided emissions of 0.39 kg CO2Eq/kg MSW. The net avoided emissions for reduction at source scenario were found to be the same as that found by the current scenario (0.4 kg CO2Eq/kg MSW). The sensitivity analysis of both reduction at source and recycling rates show a linear inverse proportional relationship with total GHG emissions reduction.


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