Regulation and competition in the extended producer responsibility models: Results in the WEEE sector in Europe.

The application of extended producer responsibility (EPR) in Europe has followed different patterns, with varying intensity of competition among producer organisations responsible for meeting take-back and recycling obligations. The literature has suggested possible reasons in favour or against the creation of dedicated compliance organisations, and arguments in support or against having many alternative recycling schemes competing on the market. However, little has been done on the empirical side to test these hypotheses. Our study contributes to filling this gap in the empirical literature by analysing the effect of competition and regulation in the field of waste from electric and electronic equipment (WEEE). We exploit an original database to provide an econometric assessment of the effects of competition and regulation on the cost of dealing with WEEE. The European case is interesting since all member country are subject to the same policy targets imposed by EU directives but enjoy significant degrees of freedom in choosing the policy mix and the industrial structure to which the achievement of policy targets is devoted. Our results are several. First, we provide valuable details on EPR models. Second, we present collection and economic results achieved by compliance organisations. Third, with a statistical analysis based on the panel data structure, we provide significant evidence that a more competitive market structure allows achieving the same collection outcomes at a lower cost. This result is potentially relevant for waste management policies since it encourages the search for a more articulated market architecture for the design of EPR systems.

The evolution of the Italian EPR system for the management of household Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE). Technical and economic performance in the spotlight.

In this paper we analyse the Italian collective system for the management of household Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), and its evolution over time, following the European Directives on WEEE, which include the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). The analysis focuses on the technical and economic performance of WEEE compliance organisations (consortia), as they are the key players in the Italian EPR regime. Economic results have not usually been provided in previous studies, due to the lack of available data. This study overcomes this problem by accessing the financial statements for the years 2009-2014 of all consortia. The main conclusions of the study are: The Italian EPR system barely exceeded the technical target of the first WEEE Directive (4kg per capita). Improvements are necessary to achieve the target set for 2019 by the Recast Directive. The economic performance of the Italian EPR regime improved significantly over time. The fees charged per tonne of WEEE collected decreased by almost 43% from 652 Euro per tonne in 2009 to 374 Euro per tonne in 2014, while the fees per tonne put on the market (POM) were 134 Euro in 2009 and 104 Euro in 2014. The results prove the theory which states that, competing consortia use the learning effects to reduce the contribution fees for producers rather than to increase the quantity collected. Municipalities remain the most important actor in WEEE collection operations. Consortia compensate municipalities with a reimbursement that ranges between 28 and 38 Euros per tonne collected. These repayments cover only partially their costs. Additional studies should investigate their role.