Currently, Chile recycles only 10 per cent of the total solid waste generated, which has its origin mainly in the lack of policies that encourage the separation of solid waste, especially Municipal Solid Waste (MSW).
Chile Looks at International Waste EPR Systems
The National Association of the Recycling Industry ANIR A.G. requested the consulting company Sustrend S.P.A. to look at the framework of the development of Stage 1 Base Diagnosis and Proposed Clean Production Agreement, the realisation of a study divided into two stages:
- Evaluation of classification at the origin of Municipal Solid Waste.
- Analysis of success stories in Extended Producer Responsibility Systems (EPR).
In the first stage of this study, an investigation was carried out that included those countries having the highest recycling rates, without considering actions associated with the implementation of ERP systems; only the MSW separation at the origin behavior. For this, besides the recycling rates as a main parameter, the different final dispositions of the MSW were studied, such as the concept of incineration, which includes all the technologies that deal with the waste as fuel, and finally the shipment to the landfill.
The methodology used in this first stage, of classification at the origin, consisted of identifying the necessary aspects to be able to make the comparison between different countries. These quantitative aspects are:
- Recycling rate of standardised Municipal Solid Waste, that is, the calculation has considered the same factors for each country.
- Per capita generation of Municipal Solid Waste.
- The municipal waste recycled volume variation over time.
- The projection of recycling rates within a period of 5 years.
- The distribution of the waste final disposal, being these: landfills, energy recovery, composting and recycling.
- Identification of policies that promote classification at the origin and recycling for the aforementioned countries.
The studied countries were: Germany, Wales, Austria, Italy, South Korea, Belgium and Switzerlandrecycling rate of over 49 per cent (standardised value). Of these countries, the most outstanding are Germany, Wales, Belgium and Italyrecycling rate of 56.1%, 52.2%, 49.0% and 49.7% respectively. The selection criteria used, mainly considers the type of policies implemented in each country and their evolution in recent years.
The outstanding aspects of the selected countries are:
Germany:
- Recycling rate: The year 2015 registered an increase of 8 per cent in the value of its recycling rate compared to 2005, reaching a rate of 66 per cent.
- MSW generation rate: Between 2005 and 2016, the rate of MSW generation decreased by 4 per cent.
- Projection Trend: If the trend of the recycling rate in Germany is projected, an average annual growth of 0.5 per cent is obtained.
- Valorisation: In terms of valuation, between 2014 and 2015 a shipment to Waste to Energy (WTE) of 25 per cent and a sanitary landfill by 9 per cent is contemplated.
- Implemented policies:
o Circular Economy Law.
o Technological Investment.
o Prohibition to recovery Biogas from Landfill.
o WTE Facilities.
Wales:
- Recycling rate: The year 2015 registered an increase of 144 per cent in the value of its recycling rate compared to 2005, reaching a rate of 61 per cent.
- MSW generation rate: Generation was reduced between 2005 and 2016 by 20 per cent.
- Projection Trend: If the trend does not change, Wales would reach German levels between 2018 and 2019, becoming the country that recycles the most in the world, with an annual recycling growth rate of 3.6 per cent.
- Valorisation: Wales has chosen to send 25 per cent of waste to WTE and 10per cent to landfill in the years 2014-2015.
- Implemented policies:
o Recovery goals 70 per cent per year 2024.
o Goal Zero Waste 2050.
o “Towards Zero Waste” Programme in the Municipalities.
o Tax on single-use plastic bags.
o Tax to the shipment to Landfill.
Belgium:
- Recycling rate: In 2015 (53 per cent) there was a decrease in the recycling rate of 2 per cent compared to 2005.
- MSW generation rate: Decrease in waste generation between 2005 and 2016 of 13 per cent.
- Projection Trend: Continues within the ranking of countries with the highest recycling rates in a sustained manner for more than 20 years.
- Valuation: For the years 2014 to 2015, Belgium sends 37 per cent to WTE and 16 per cent to Landfill.
- Implemented policies:
o Responsibility for environmental management by region, highlighting the Flanders system.
o Government Subsidies to Municipalities.
o Implementation of taxes to landfills.
o WTE incentive.
Italy:
- Recycling rate: The year 2015 registered an increase of 139 per cent in the value of its recycling rate compared to 2005, reaching a rate of 43 per cent.
- MSW generation rate: For the years 2005 and 2016, Italy has reduced its generation by 9 per cent.
- Projection Trend: According to the trend, it is expected that by 2020 the recycling rate will be above 50%, with an annual growth rate of 2.5 per cent.
- Valuation: Among the best countries identified, Italy is the one that sends the most landfill with 26 per cent and WTE 20 per cent for the years 2014-2015.
- Implemented policies:
o Circular Economy Model.
o WTE incentive.
o Waste pre-processing policy.
o Waste Law / Quantitative objectives for collection.
o National Waste Inventories.
In the second stage of this study the systems of Extended Responsibility of the Producer (ERP) in the world were evaluated, by priority product, with a focus on the costs associated with each system, especially in the European Union. For this, the following parameters were defined to identify the most efficient ERP systems:
- Recycling fees.
- Adaptation time and implementation.
- Costs associated with the producer.
Within the study, the following priority products were analysed:
- Portable batteries.
- Out of Use Vehicles, which includes the following waste:
o Motor, differential and gearbox oils.
o Fuels.
o Brake fluid.
o Antifreeze
o Batteries.
o Tyres.
o Scrap
o Plastics.
- Packaging and Packing.
- Lubricant oils.
- Electrical and Electronic.
In the case of portable batteries, the following countries were analysed: France, Switzerland, Belgium, Netherlands and Denmark.
Regarding to the Out-of-Use Vehicles the following models were investigated: Slovakia, Netherlands, Finland and AustriaJapan and Germany being those with the highest recycling rate.
In terms of packing and packaging products, data was obtained from: the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, France and Belgium.
For the Electrical and Electronic REP Systems, the following were evaluated: France, Republic of Ireland and Denmark.
Source: ANIR and Sustrend Consulting Company.
