The Revised Directive on Waste: Resolving Legislative Tensions in Waste Management?

The revised Directive on waste (Directive 2008/98/EC) enteredinto force on 12 December 2008. The purpose of the revised Directiveis to simplify the existing legislative framework for wastein order to encourage the divergence of waste away from landfills,to strengthen legal certainty and minimise burdens on businesses,regulators and stakeholders. This article explores the mainfeatures of the revised Directive and assesses them againstthe European Commissions' intentions in introducing the Directive.In addition, the paper considers the extent to which the revisedDirective promotes successfully (i) reduction of natural resourceuse, (ii) prevention of environmental impacts of waste generation,(iii) life-cycle thinking and; (iv) securing waste prevention.The paper concludes that there is still room for further clarification,particularly in relation to the criteria for by-products andthe new waste management terms ‘end of waste’ and‘preparing for re-use’. Whilst the revised Directivehas weaknesses and limitations it should be considered withinthe context of decision-making. In this way it represents amulti-party, multi-institutional and multi-national compromisewhich should be considered as a progressive step towards improvingthe whole life-cycle of products and resources. Undoubtedly,the revised Directive sets the tone for future legislative developmentsand bolsters the importance of extended producer responsibilityin future waste management measures.     

The effects of market concentration on costs of local public services: empirical evidence from Dutch waste collection

ABSTRACT

Different concentration indexes are calculated for the Dutch waste collection market and all show that this market was highly concentrated in 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014. The estimation results in 2002 show that private collection is cheaper but high concentration increases costs of private collection and therefore (partly) offsets the advantage of contracting out. In 2006, the savings gained from privatisation and also the effect of concentration disappear, probably due to the introduction of a VAT-compensation fund. In 2010, for an area with a radius of 30 km, high concentration increases costs, but for larger areas, this effect mostly disappears. For 2014, in most estimations, this concentration effect disappears. If we include fixed effects for a panel, the cost advantage of inter-municipal cooperation is larger than that of private production and concentration effects also disappear. Overall, these estimation results are rather independent of the concentration indexes used, if we investigate several indexes as an alternative for the Herfindahl–Hirschman index.     

When revenues are not revenues: the influence of municipal governance on revenue recognition within Swedish municipal waste management

This paper explores the influence of municipal governance forms and structures on accounting compliance in municipal organisations. If municipal governance forms and structures influence accounting compliance, then understanding these relationships becomes important when discussing heterogeneous practice and efficient accounting regulation. The context and object of analysis is the practices of revenue recognition within the Swedish municipal solid waste management sector. Overall, this analysis identifies that financial accounting compliance is influenced by municipal governance forms and structures, and the results further highlight how financial accounting practices might diffuse through local intra-organisational processes. The results emphasise that municipal governance forms and structures are important factors when considering heterogeneous accounting practices in the municipal sector which complement the more conventional analysis of how external institutional, political and economic forces influence accounting choice and compliance.     

Nothing wasted: engaging values and the imagination. How can working with feminist speculative fictions enthuse and engage students with social justice and sustainability in an age of austerity?

In the context of contemporary higher education, post white paper, ‘Students at the heart of the system’ [BIS, 2011. Students at the heart of the system [online]. Available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/31384/11-944-higher-education-students-at-heart-of-system.pdf, (Accessed 5 Feb 2014), in which funding and commodification of learning and of students dominate university mission statements and agendas, it is crucial that we collaborate with our students to engage imagination and critical faculties with issues of value, and of social justice. Teaching and researching contemporary feminist speculative fictions and feminist critical practice offer a priceless opportunity to make a difference, to challenge the intellectual impoverishment that this new austerity brings with it. Learning and teaching research into threshold concepts and signature pedagogies combine here with feminist critical practice in a discussion of teaching two speculative fictions which engage criticality and values: Atwood [Atwood, 2003. Oryx and Crake. New York: Nan A. Talese.) and Hopkinson [Hopkinson, 1996. A habit of waste. Skin folk. New York: Aspect, 183–202] each of which critiques flawed societies using tropes of waste, and rejection of difference. Each suggests recovery from damage done in the name of austerity, and imagines futures for the critical imagination, social justice, self-worth and agency.     

生产销售食品犯罪几个疑难问题的认定——不卫生食品与有毒、有害食品罪名认定

不符合卫生标准的食品是指不符合《食品安全法》规定的食品卫生及安全标准的食品,它包括两层含义：一是这些食品的原料是食品原料,而不能是掺入的非食品原料;二是该食品是不符合卫生标准的食品。有毒、有害食品是指掺入了有毒、有害的非食品原料的食品。区分两种生产销售食品犯罪的根本在于两个：一是毒源不同,二是掺入方式不同。     

城市生活垃圾填埋场可生物降解物降解产物量化分析

通过对成都市2004年度城市生活垃圾成分统计,在采用十字交叉方法对垃圾成分中各易降解组分量化分析的基础上,分析了城市生活垃圾降解机理,与此同时利用其主要的降解反应及质量守衡,建立了相应的计量公式,对各降解阶段产物生成量做了定量计算。分析表明文中提出的分析量化公式能为城市生活垃圾填埋处置过程中渗虑液及填埋气体的产生量计算提供一定理论参考。     

基于高品质生活理念的餐饮浪费治理研究

党的十八大以来,习近平总书记对餐饮浪费问题高度重视,作出一系列重要指示批示。文章梳理了餐饮浪费问题的主要场景构成及治理现状,认为造成餐饮浪费的一个重要原因是人的错误观念和认知。另外,管理不到位、经营理念缺失以及社会对餐饮浪费行为尚缺乏刚性约束也是餐饮浪费的生成要素。在新时代,高品质生活理念迫切要求制止餐饮浪费。为此,要通过发挥党员干部示范引领作用、加强宣传教育、深化餐饮业供给侧改革和完善相关制度机制等途径有效制止餐饮浪费。     

Simplification： A single tax and a single entitlement

The United States is experiencing a very serious economic downturn. It is now necessary to consider some significant changes in government policy. The system of revenue collection should be simplified with a single tax levied and itemized at the national, state, and local levels. Likewise, the system of benefit distribution should be simplified with a single entitlement paid to each individual at every level with absolutely no strings attached. Such simplification would save a massive amount of time and money even if it was neutral in terms of overall revenue and expenditure. And, it would minimize fraud, waste and abuse. The gains in efficiency and accountability would be enormous.     

《巴塞尔公约》与危险废物越境转移的责任

1980年《巴塞尔公约》没有具体规定危险废物越境转移的责任条款,实际上,只要出现了可归因于国家的违背国际义务的非法越境转移有害废物的行为,出口国就应承担国际责任。损害后果大小和国家是否有故意或过失,只是国际不当行为的情节问题而言。就危险废物越境转移的国际责任而言,应从公平原则出发,其赔偿额不仅应包括进口国及其国民所受的生命和财产等直接损失,也应当包括环境方面的间接损失,并且在计算间接损失时。还应充分考虑环境损害的长远性。     

Governance Arrangements for Transboundary Issues: Lessons from the Food Waste Programs of Italian Regions

Focusing on transboundary issues contributes to highlighting how new governance modes can emerge from increasing interdependence and complexity in public policies. This article analyzes food waste as a transboundary issue that cuts across different policy subsystems (PSs), intersects multiple levels of government, and calls into question consolidated policy making for new modes of governance. The analytical framework provides a multidimensional approach and a new typology of governance arrangements to be used in empirical research. Evidence from an Italian case study and an empirical investigation of 20 regional food waste programs shows that regions can adopt different driving ideas and can activate a variety of governance arrangements and differentiated, as well as viable, modes of integration between consolidated PSs. The article argues that different tool mixes combined with different levels of governance complexity may lead to a variety of governance arrangements and a differentiated likelihood of policy integration.