Finnish waste policy -: effects and effectiveness

More than 20 ordinances on waste have been issued in Finland since the National Waste Act came into force in 1994, Effects and effectiveness of this regulation have recently been analysed in an R&D project called WAPO. The materials and methods used in WAPO were mainly based on case studies on regional and company scales. According to WAPO, the infrastructure of waste management and the recovery of wastes have greatly improved in Finland in the 1990s. By contrast, the waste policy has not been able to upgrade waste prevention. the primary objective in the hierarchy defined by the Finnish Waste Act and the EUs waste policy. To overcome this drawback, the use of economic policy instruments are recommended to be extended and directed towards enhancing efficient use of natural resources and materials. Self-regulation within industry, e.g. the use of environmental management systems (EMSs), is one solution that has been proposed as an alternative to more intensive use of economic instruments. Although the attitudes and experiences of enterprises with respect to EMSs are positive, their real influence on company behaviour needs to be further studied. Extended producer responsibility (EPR) systems in waste management appear to have great potential. However, their main effect hitherto has been intensified recovery of waste. This fact may have influenced the slightly dissatisfied general attitude towards the Finnish EPR systems. New initiatives are needed in waste policy because the amounts of waste in Finland, as well as in other parts of Europe, are continually growing. Simultaneously, the scope of policy should be drastically broadened from mere wastes to society's overall cycles of materials and products. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.