IMPROVING RECYCLING MARKETS

1,06
MB

172
stron

4996
ID Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

2005
rok

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW OF MARKET FAILURES AND BARRIERS 9

1. Introduction 9

2. The Economic Importance and Structure of the Recycling Sector in OECD Countries. 9

3. The Nature of Potential Market Imperfections in Secondary Material Markets 13

3.1. Transaction Costs and Search Costs in Secondary Material Markets. 14

3.2. Information Failure and Uncertainty Related to Waste Quality . 17

3.3. Consumption Externalities Related to Products Derived from Secondary Materials. 20

3.4. Technological Externalities Related to Recovery and Reuse of Secondary Materials . 23

3.5. Market Power and Vertical Integration in Waste Recovery . 25

4. Testing for Market Efficiency . 27

5. Conclusions 29

ANNEX 1: LOSS AVERSION – AN EXAMPLE. 31

ANNEX 2: THE DETERMINANTS OF GLASS RECYCLING RATES IN THE OECD. 32

ANNEX 3: PRICE VOLATILITY FOR SELECTED PRIMARY & SECONDARY MATERIALS. 34

REFERENCES 38

CHAPTER 2: IMPROVING MARKETS FOR WASTE OILS 44

1. Introduction 44

2. The Market for Lubricants 45

2.1. Characteristics of Lubricant Oils 46

2.2. Base Oil and Lubricant Product Trends 46

2.3. Waste Oil and Used Oil 48

3. Environmental Impacts from Waste Oil Management 49

3.1. Post-collection environmental impacts. 49

3.2. Illegal Disposal 52

3.3. Conclusion. 54

4. Market Failures and Barriers. 54

4.1. Information failures relating to recovered oil quality. 54

4.2. Risk aversion to using re-refined base oils . 55

4.3. Switching costs and barriers to entry 56

4.4. Technological externalities. 57

5. Policy Responses 58

5.1. United Kingdom 58

5.2. Italy 59

5.3. Australia. 62

5.4. Alberta, Canada . 63

5.5. European Union. 64

5.6. Comparative Assessment 65

6. Conclusions 66

6.1. Targeting environmental policy objectives. 67

6.2. Providing information to market participants. 67

6.3. Discouraging illegal dumping and burning 67

6.4. Maximising and optimising collection without restricting re-refining . 68

6.5. Removing market and policy distortions 68

6.6. Ensuring policy consistency . 69

REFERENCES 70

CHAPTER 3: IMPROVING MARKETS FOR WASTE PLASTICS. 72

1. Introduction 72

2. The Importance of Plastics in OECD Economies . 72

2.1. The Process of Making Plastics 73

2.2. Uses of Major Plastics 74

2.2. Uses of Major Plastics 75

2.3. The Environmental Impacts of Plastics and Plastics Recycling . 76

3. The Recycling Process 78

3.1. Source of Waste: Post-Industrial vs. Post-Consumer Recycling 78

3.2. Nature of Recovery: Closed Loop, Open Loop, and Energy Recovery 79

3.3. Mechanical vs. Feedstock Recycling 80

3.4. The Plastics Recycling Industry . 80

4. Barriers to Recycled Material Use 81

4.1. Technological Externalities 81

4.2. Collection, Transaction and Search Costs 82

4.3. Waste Quality and Demand-Side Information 'Failures' 84

4.4. Market Power and Price Discrimination. 85

4.5. Signalling and Market Segmentation 87

5. Market Conditions and Price Volatility. 87

5.1. Evidence of Price Volatility 88

5.2. The Reasons for Price Volatility. 88

5.3. The Consequences of Price Volatility 90

6. Policy Case Studies 92

6.1. United States 92

6.2. Germany 100

6.3. Sweden. 106

7. Conclusions and Policy Recommendations 113

REFERENCES 117

CHAPTER 4: IMPROVING MARKETS FOR USED RUBBER TYRES 121

1. Introduction 121

2. The lifecycle of tyres 122

2.1. Production 122

2.2. Consumption 123

2.3. Collection and Waste Management 124

2.4. International trade 127

3. The market for secondary rubber 129

3.1. Current configuration of the used tyre market 130

3.2. Optimal configuration of the used tyre market. 131

4. Market failures and barriers 133

4.1. Retreading 133

4.2. Rubber recycling 137

4.3. Energy recovery. 140

4.4. Incineration and landfilling. 141

4.5. Illegal dumping 143

5. Policy influences in the market for secondary rubber . 143

5.1. Existing tyre-related policies 144

5.2. Comparative assessment of instruments . 147

6. Policy recommendations . 148

6.1. Set clear targets while maintaining flexibility 148

6.2. Well-targeted support for research and development . 148

6.3. Actively fight illegal dumping 149

6.4. Promote retreads to the public 149

6.5. Encourage extended producer responsibility 150

6.6. Implement harmonised standards for retreads, crumb rubber and TDF . 150

REFERENCES 152

CHAPTER 5: PUBLIC POLICY AND RECYCLING MARKETS. 156

1. Introduction 156

2. Policies Targeted Directly at Recycling 158

3. Environmental Policies Designed to Reduce Waste-Related Environmental Damages . 160

4. Removing Policy Failures Which Discourage Recycling . 162

5. Addressing Market Inefficiencies in Recyclable Material Markets 163

5.1. Market Power 165

5.2. Information Failures . 166

5.3. Consumption Externalities 166

5.4. Technological Externalities 167

5.5. Search and Transaction Costs. 168

5.6. Summary 169

6. Conclusions 170

REFERENCES 171