Emerging market patterns in the recycled paper trade

The international recovered paper trade serves two important functions: increasing raw material availability in the paper and board industry and providing economic incentives to recycle. The purpose of this paper is to shed further light on emerging patterns in this trade by empirically analysing the changes in the bilateral trade flows of recycled paper between 1992 and 2008. According to our estimations, two important changes occurred in the 1990s and 2000s. First, the growing importance of developing economies in global recycled paper trade plays a significant role in import demand as a determinant of trade flows. Second, the changes in global trade patterns necessitate investigating the transportation cost measures used in applied research.     

南充市饮食娱乐服务业的污染现状及防治对策

本文分析南充市城区饮食娱乐服务业的污染现状，提出了防治饮食娱乐服务业污染的对策。     

Regionalization of Municipal Solid Waste Management in Japan: Balancing the Proximity Principle with Economic Efficiency

The proximity principle—disposing of waste close to its origin—has been a central value in municipal solid waste (MSW) management in Japan for the last 30 years and its widespread adoption has helped resolve numerous “Not in My Backyard” issues related to MSW management. However, MSW management costs have soared, in large part because of aggressive recycling efforts and because most MSW is incinerated in a country that has scarce landfill capacity. In addition, smaller, less sophisticated incinerators have been closed because of high dioxin emissions. Rising costs combined with the closure of smaller incinerators have shifted MSW management policy toward regionalization, which is the sharing of waste management facilities across municipalities. Despite the increased use of regionalized MSW facilities, the proximity principle remains the central value in Japanese MSW management. Municipal solid waste management has become increasingly regionalized in the United States, too, but different driving forces are at work in these two countries. The transition to regionalized MSW management in Japan results from strong governmental control at all levels, with the central government providing funds and policy direction and prefectures and municipalities being the primary implementing authorities. By contrast, market forces are a much stronger force with US MSW management, where local governments—with state government oversight—have primary responsibility for MSW management. We describe recent changes in Japan’s MSW programs. We examine the connections between MSW facility regionalization, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, the proximity principle, coordination among local governments, central government control, and financing mechanisms.     

国际粮食贸易影响下东北黑土地生产压力变化与保护策略

黑土地是重要的农产品生产基地之一,承担着保障国家粮食安全和维护农业生态安全的重要责任,保护好黑土地对促进我国农业可持续发展至关重要。测算与分析2000—2020年东北黑土地粮食生产耕地压力的变化情况,研究国际贸易对东北黑土地粮食生产的耕地压力的影响,利用国际市场占有率指数和贸易竞争优势指数分析东北黑土地农产品在国内及国际两个市场的竞争优势。结果表明：近20年来东北黑土地粮食生产的耕地压力基本处于安全压力区并呈逐步下降的趋势,玉米、大豆、稻谷三种主要作物生产的耕地压力分别从2000年的1.94、1.09和0.63下降至2020年的0.69、0.26和0.54。国际粮食贸易对黑土地粮食生产耕地压力减缓的作用显著且呈现出逐年上升的趋势,2020年对黑土地粮食生产耕地压力减缓的贡献率达26.22%,其中对大豆生产的耕地压力减缓的贡献率达511.48%。农产品贸易优势度分析结果显示,东北黑土地农产品在国内市场具有明显的贸易竞争优势,但在国际贸易中的竞争优势不明显。为此,提出了国际贸易粮食贸易变化背景下黑土地保护的若干建议,为东北黑土地保护及其粮食产能保障相关决策提供参考。     

新型自贸协定的环保议题谈判及我国的对策简

自由贸易协定中纳入环境保护规定是提高自由贸易中的正环境效应,同时避免或减轻负面环境影响的保障,已经逐渐成为新型国际自由贸易谈判中的重要内容。以跨太平洋战略经济伙伴关系协定为代表的新型自由贸易谈判,试图在协定中丰富环境条款,例如环保原则、国际环境公约、环境标准、争端解决机制、环境产业和服务、环境合作和能力建设等。我国也开始在自贸谈判中纳入环保要求,基于最新的政策要求,我国应积极赶上国际自由贸易谈判中环境保护的新要求,推动贸易与环保政策的深度融合。     

The long and winding road to resource efficiency – An interdisciplinary perspective on extended producer responsibility

Extended producer responsibility is advocated for its capacity to spur resource efficiency through green innovation and closing loops downstream of consumption. Its rationale is the extension of the polluter-pays principle to the post-consumption phase. This paper analyze the underlying mechanisms that are supposed to work under the EPR approach, and proposes an alternative view. The main purpose of EPR is seen as the creation of the bases for legitimizing the involvement if industry taking over the task of diverting waste from landfill. Its success rests on the superior managerial capacity of industry and the need to organize post-consumption markets that transcend the local scale and have access to the economies of scale and scope. The emphasis on producers does not add anything special, but may reinforce the bases for legitimizing the implicit delegation of power to industry. Primary and above all, we have witnessed in the last 20 years a gigantic effort of market design, and this is the main demonstration of EPR's success.     

Two decades,three WEEE systems: How far did EPR evolve in Korea's resource circulation policy?

Extended producer responsibility (EPR) has become a dominant policy paradigm for the management of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) in the last two decades. In South Korea the principle has guided the evolution of the resource circulation policy even before its official introduction through a revision of the recycling law in 2002. Elements of producer responsibilities could be found in the producer-based deposit refund system (DRS) a decade earlier and they were strengthened through the enactment of a new resource circulation law in 2008. This article reviews the policy changes in South Korea for the management of WEEE during the past 20 years. The focus of the analysis is on the impacts of EPR and the producers’ responses that were expressed through the quantity and the quality of material flows in the society. The findings are discussed in light of international experiences in order to outline measures to improve the effectiveness of the EPR-based resource circulation policy that could have broader implications beyond the case study.     

System dynamics model for analyzing effects of eco-design policy on packaging waste management system

EU's long-term objective is to become a recycling and resource effective society, where waste is utilized as a resource and waste generation is prevented. A system dynamics model was developed to analyze the policy mechanisms that promote packaging material efficiency in products through increased recycling rates. The model includes economic incentives such as packaging and landfill taxes combined with market mechanisms, behavioral aspects and ecological considerations in terms of material efficiency (the packaging material per product unit, recycled fraction in products). The paper presents the results of application of various policy instruments for increasing packaging material efficiency and recovery rate and reducing landfilled fraction. The results show that a packaging tax is an effective policy instrument for increasing the material efficiency. It ensures the decrease of the total consumption of materials and subsequent waste generation. The tax helps to counteract a rebound effect, which, as identified by the analysis, can be caused by reduced material costs due to eco-design. The model is applied to the case of Latvia. Yet, the elements and structure of the model developed are similar to waste management systems in many countries. By changing numeric values of certain parameters, the model can be applied to analyze policy mechanisms in other countries.     

完善废旧资源进口和加工贸易环境的思考

进口利用废旧资源在解决我国原生资源不足、节约能源、降低环境负荷、满足日益增长的物资需要具有重要的意义,但进口废旧资源会因夹带、处置加工等环节带来环境污染.文章梳理了我国允许废旧资源进口利用的背景需求,探讨了科学识别进口废旧资源、加工利用相关行业产生的环境问题,提出了进一步加强环境监管的对策方案,以推进废旧资源进口和加工贸易的健康发展.     

Analysis of the implementation of effective waste management practices in construction projects and sites

In this paper, the implementation of effective waste management practices in construction projects and sites is analyzed, using data from a survey answered by 74 Spanish construction companies based in Catalonia. Most commonly implemented practices were found to be on-site cleanliness and order, correct storage of raw materials, and prioritization of the nearest authorized waste managers. The least widespread practices were the use of a mobile crusher on site, the creation of individualized drawings for each construction site, and the dissemination of the contents of the waste management plan to all workers, to help them to meet its requirements. Waste regulations for construction and demolition, and the corresponding construction waste management facilities, were designed before the recession in the Spanish construction sector. Current waste generation rates are still below predicted levels, and the infrastructure was designed for five times more waste generation. Even so, the percentage of reused and recycled waste currently amounts to 43%. Survey respondents highlighted various instruments and measures that would make the management of construction and demolition waste more sustainable. Most of the opportunities identified by construction firms are within the scope of government and related to a combined system of bonus and penalties and the establishment of environmental awareness and training programmes for all the stakeholders. Within the scope of authorized waste managers, firms suggested improvements such as the standardization of fees, a reduction of the time until the issue of waste management certificates, a higher number of inspections, and a change in the current model of a few large construction waste management facilities. This research is useful to better understand the current status of construction and demolition waste management in construction projects and sites. Thus, the results of this research will guide policy makers and relevant stakeholders such as contractors, clients, architects and engineers to achieve the EU target of recovering 70% of construction and demolition waste in 2020. In this sense, reliable information can help governments and professional associations to set future C&D waste management regulations, training programmes and dissemination tools, inspections, etc.