Elsevier

Waste Management

Volume 33, Issue 5, May 2013, Pages 1047-1056
Waste Management

Review
Measuring waste prevention

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2012.12.017Get rights and content

Abstract

The Waste Framework Directive (WFD-2008/98/EC) has set clear waste prevention procedures, including reporting, reviewing, monitoring and evaluating. Based on the WFD, the European Commission and will offer support to Member States on how to develop waste prevention programmes through guidelines and information sharing on best practices. Monitoring and evaluating waste prevention activities are critical, as they constitute the main tools to enable policy makers, at the national and local level, to build their strategic plans and ensure that waste prevention initiatives are effective and deliver behaviour change. However, how one can measure something that is not there, remains an important and unresolved research question. The paper reviews and attempts to evaluate the methods that are being used for measuring waste prevention and the impact of relevant implemented activities at the household level, as the available data is still limited.

Highlights

► Waste Framework Directive has set clear waste prevention procedures. ► Measuring waste prevention. ► Monitoring and evaluation of waste arising. ► Methods that are been used for measuring waste prevention. ► Household prevention activities.

Introduction

In 2008, according to the latest official Eurostat statistics, the total waste generation in the EU-27 was 2.62 billion t with an increasing trend. Of this quantity, 98 million t or 3.7% were classified as hazardous waste. This means that in 2008 each EU citizen produced on average about 5.2 t of waste, of which 196 kg were hazardous (Eurostat, 2011). Waste prevention means eliminating or reducing the amount and/or the toxicity of waste, including recyclables. For businesses, government agencies and other organisations, it includes processes that: conserve supplies and inventory; eliminate, reduce and reuse products and packaging; deploy waste-reducing technology and equipment; use more durable, reusable, repairable and less toxic products and packaging; leave grass clippings on the lawn to naturally decompose; and reduce food and yard waste, including through on-site composting. For the citizens, waste prevention also includes: buying products with the least amount of packaging; buying only the amount of a product that is needed; buying less harmful products; and reusing, donating or repairing items that might otherwise be discarded or recycled (NYCDoS, 2000, Sharp et al., 2010a, Sharp et al., 2010b).

Measuring waste prevention is a complex and difficult undertaking. It is not really clear what can be measured if it is not there. Unlike recycling, where the amount of material transferred from the “garbage can” to a “recycling bin” can be quantified, waste prevention often results to the elimination of the material. In this case there is nothing to weigh or evaluate. According to WR1204 (2009a), the aim of monitoring and evaluating household waste prevention is to assist policy makers, local authorities and experts to: ensure that robust decisions are made about where to prioritise resource allocation; collect reliable, high quality data; and certify that waste prevention programmes are being effective and providing the required behaviour change.

In the UK, the Government has funded a large research programme on waste prevention, which has consolidated much of the scattered knowledge in the issue, enhanced understanding of waste prevention and triggered relevant research and practice. The programme included a review of evidence analysing the behavioural opportunities and barriers in household waste prevention, associated with the effectiveness of various policy measures (Cox et al., 2010), assessing the impact of waste prevention campaigns (Sharp et al., 2010a) and developing methods to monitor and evaluate waste prevention through mass reduction and behavioural studies (Sharp et al., 2010b). Today, waste prevention is becoming a priority in many national policies, worldwide. In the EU especially, the Waste Framework Directive (WFD-2008/98/EC) has set clear waste prevention procedures, including reporting, reviewing, monitoring and evaluating. It also requires Member States (MSs) to establish national waste prevention plans by the end of 2013 and actively develop waste prevention programmes. Moreover, the WFD places a legal obligation for MS to follow the waste hierarchy, where prevention is the top priority of any waste management plan.

As waste prevention is becoming increasingly important for waste and resources management, both at the level of planning and implementation, it is crucial to develop reliable methods to monitor, measure and evaluate waste prevention and its benefits, as well as to assess the effectiveness of actions aiming to promote relevant awareness and behavioural changes. The aim of this paper is to review the methods that are being used for measuring, monitoring and evaluating waste prevention activities and the relevant implementation programmes in the framework of household/consumer prevention.

Section snippets

Waste prevention in the Waste Framework Directive

According to the WFD (2008/98/EC) waste prevention is defined as “the measures taken before a substance, material or product has become waste, that reduce the quantity of waste, the adverse impacts of the generated waste on environmental and human health or the content of harmful substances”. Preventing waste means reducing the amount of waste generated, reducing the hazardous content of that waste and reducing its impact on the environment. Waste prevention includes strict avoidance of waste

Household waste prevention definition

Focus groups consider waste reduction to include recycling activities (RECAP, 2008). This view, however, may lead to residents’ belief that they are already “doing their best” for waste prevention and limit further interest or action. However, waste prevention, which is the highest priority of the waste hierarchy, is defined as the prevention of waste at source through avoidance, reduction and reuse, but excluding off site recycling. Along this line, the WFD, especially in Article 3, clause

Methods used to measure waste prevention

Several methods have been used to measure waste prevention, which can be summarised as following: (a) Direct quantification of source reduction, referred on reported measurements of changes in waste stream quantities, either by volume or weight. This method includes direct monitoring programs through case studies, audits and/or waste sorting studies. (b) Source reduction cost analysis, which generally incorporates two financial factors: the cost of undertaking the source reduction effort and

Approaches to monitoring and evaluating household waste prevention

Monitoring is the systematic collection and analysis of information as a project progresses. It is aimed at improving the efficiency and effectiveness of a project or organisation. It is based on targets set and activities planned during the planning phases of work. It helps to keep the work on track and can let management know when things are going wrong. It enables the management to determine whether the available resources are sufficient and are being well used, whether the available

Benefits and dis-benefits

The presented methods for monitoring and evaluation have several advantages and disadvantages (WR1204, 2009a, WR1204, 2009b, Sharp et al., 2010a, Sharp et al., 2010b, Cox et al., 2010, Tasaki and Yamakawa, 2011). Table 2 indicated the most significant issues (strength and weakness) from each of the above methodology. From Table 3 it is clear that it is very important in order to have successful results to identify the target group which will take place in the research. Also, it is very

Motivations and barrier’s for waste prevention

It is a fact that everyone needs a motivation to react to anything. Even Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) which need to become environmentally responsible and minimise their waste. According to Zorpas (2010) SMEs need motivations (Fig. 2) to react to anything, but is it the need to become environmentally responsible a motivation for small business? The answer is YES as several people are behind of any SMEs. In the European Union 85% of businesses cited personal views economic benefits and

Guidelines for waste prevention programs

Waste prevention is a cross-cutting area of policymaking and has a direct relevance to a considerable number of already established policy areas, both in the field of the environment (e.g. environmental management systems) as well as specific primarily non-environmental areas (such as e.g. innovation policy), which have good potential to decrease the amount and/or the adverse impacts of generated waste, both at EU and Member State levels. Waste prevention programmes should keep in mind the

Conclusion

Waste prevention is at the top of the waste hierarchy; however, it is notoriously difficult to measure. The problem is simply expressed: how do you measure something that is not there. With a rising level of prosperity in industrialised countries, an increasing number of products and services are being produced and consumed. This critical expansion is replicated in the amount of waste generated. It has therefore become of prime importance to specify basic notions such as recovery and disposal,

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