Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Fig. 7.4 Production of household waste, Paris, 1870
1980. Adapted from Barles (
2005
)
-
soils
79
These were all factors that contributed to challenging the so-called ideal
solution for disposal on land, and more generally, the management (and in some
cases the absence of management) of solid waste, the third pollution (after water
and air pollution) as described by William Small in 1970.
80
The
…
rst large political bills concerning waste (in particular urban waste) were
brought in during the 1960s and 1970s: the Solid Waste Disposal Act in 1965 and
the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act in 1976 in the United States, the
European directive of July 1975, to name only a few. These texts all emphasized
the necessity to reduce the production of waste at its source
—
for example, by
reducing waste from packaging
through
recycling, utilization for energy purposes or biological conversion. They also rec-
ommended the implementation of a
—
and recovering the waste collected
—
principle to the management and
pricing of waste, which was universally adopted by the OECD in 1972.
81
According to the principle of internalizing the negative externalities, it was a
question of placing a monetary value on the residual damage to the environment
'
polluter pays
'
—
damage remaining after collection and treatment of waste
and to charge this cost
to the emitter of the waste (which could be an individual or an industry for example)
in addition to the cost of the collection service and treatment. Nevertheless, the
situation remained worrisome and evolved insubstantially until the 1990s:
the quantity of waste did not decrease, or only a little, recycling stayed limited both
—
79
Sowers (
1968
).
80
Small (
1971
).
81
Guiding principles concerning the international economic aspects of environmental policies.
Recommendation adopted by the OECD Council on 26th May 1972.
