ANALYSIS OF Nordic regulatory framework and its effect on waste prevention and recycling in the region Analysis of Nordic regulatory frame- work and its effect on waste preven- tion and recycling in the region Joe Papineschi, Dominic Hogg, Tanzir Chowdhury, Camilla Durrant and Alice Thomson TemaNord 2019:522 Analysis of Nordic regulatory framework and its effect on waste prevention and recycling in the region Joe Papineschi, Dominic Hogg, Tanzir Chowdhury, Camilla Durrant and Alice Thomson Country experts from: Tyréns: Elisabet Höglund, Emma Colleen Moberg and Emelie Gyllenbreider The Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE): Hanna Salmenperä and Topi Turunen Intellecon: Gunnar Haraldsson and Kári Friðriksson Affaldskontoret: Hanne Johnsen, Henning Jørgensen and Jens Purup ISBN 978-92-893-6103-3 (PRINT) ISBN 978-92-893-6104-0 (PDF) ISBN 978-92-893-6105-7 (EPUB) http://dx.doi.org/10.6027/TN2019-522 TemaNord 2019:522 ISSN 0908-6692 Standard: PDF/UA-1 ISO 14289-1 © Nordic Council of Ministers 2019 Disclaimer This publication was funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers. 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Photo rights (further permission required for reuse): Any queries regarding rights and licences should be addressed to: Nordic Council of Ministers/Publication Unit Ved Stranden 18 DK-1061 Copenhagen K Denmark Phone +45 3396 0200 [email protected] Nordic co-operation Nordic co-operation is one of the world’s most extensive forms of regional collaboration, involving Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland. Nordic co-operation has firm traditions in politics, economics and culture and plays an important role in European and international forums. The Nordic community strives for a strong Nordic Region in a strong Europe. Nordic co-operation promotes regional interests and values in a global world. The values shared by the Nordic countries help make the region one of the most innovative and competitive in the world. The Nordic Council of Ministers Nordens Hus Ved Stranden 18 DK-1061 Copenhagen K, Denmark Tel.: +45 3396 0200 www.norden.org Download Nordic publications at www.norden.org/nordpub Contents Executive Summary .................................................................................................................. 7 1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 11 1.1 Background and Objectives .................................................................................... 11 1.2 Approach and Methodology ................................................................................... 12 2. European Union Policies .................................................................................................... 15 2.1 Current EU Directives ............................................................................................. 15 2.2 Waste Framework Directive / Circular Economy Package ........................................ 21 3. Country Profiles ................................................................................................................ 25 3.1 Åland ...................................................................................................................... 25 3.2 Denmark ................................................................................................................ 33 3.3 Faroe Islands .......................................................................................................... 52 3.4 Finland ................................................................................................................... 58 3.5 Greenland ............................................................................................................... 74 3.6 Iceland .................................................................................................................... 90 3.7 Norway ................................................................................................................. 104 3.8 Sweden ................................................................................................................ 125 3.9 Summary .............................................................................................................. 144 4. Econometric Analysis ...................................................................................................... 149 4.1 Method ................................................................................................................ 149 4.2 Summary of Waste Generation Results ................................................................. 151 4.3 Summary of Recycling Rate Results ...................................................................... 157 5. Policy Analysis and Recommendations ............................................................................ 163 5.1 Policy Analysis ...................................................................................................... 163 5.2 Key Challenges ..................................................................................................... 171 5.3 Future Challenges ................................................................................................. 173 5.4 Conclusions and Recommendations ...................................................................... 185 Sammanfattning ................................................................................................................... 191 Analysis of Nordic regulatory framework on waste prevention and recycling 5 6 Analysis of Nordic regulatory framework on waste prevention and recycling Executive Summary The Nordic region includes some of the most developed and mature waste management systems in Europe, with various aspects of the waste and resource management industry in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland rightly being seen as world-leading. Although there is still much to do in the island nations to develop advanced waste management systems, the region as a whole is widely regarded as being at the forefront of tackling the key environmental, social and economic issues associated with inefficient resource use. Notable cross cutting issues for current waste management for the Nordic Nations include, to a greater or lesser extent by country, a mismatch between the current waste infrastructure and the infrastructure required to meet the recycling aspirations outlined in national waste strategies (and EU waste targets), and the challenges posed in delivering an efficient waste management system for rural populations and/or in extreme winter weather conditions. At an important time in Nordic Waste Policy, as the 2018 Circular Economy Package makes significant updates to key European Union directives, this work looks back at the Nordic regulatory framework for waste from the 1970s and its effect upon waste prevention and recycling. To identify the policies that have had a significant impact on waste generation and recycling rates an econometric analysis was carried out for the five Nordic countries with a sufficient time series of data (Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland). The econometric model included macroeconomic variables which would be likely to affect the waste generation and recycling rates, these were: Population, Real GDP and Real household consumption. Panel data analysis was carried out in addition to an individual country analysis, the panel data overcomes issues around small numbers of data points and is more robust than the country specific analysis. Looking at the panel data the following policies have a significant negative effect on waste generation, i.e. the presence of the policy shows a correlation with a reduction in waste generation: packaging tax and a recovery target (a target for recycling and energy recovery). For recycling rate the following policies have a significant positive effect on