Economic analysis of waste management systems in Europe

The paper sketches the main regulatory economic issues characterizing waste management policies in the EU context. On the background, the evolution of solid waste management (SWM) policies that has increasingly shifted attention from end-of-pipe management (waste collection and disposal) to prevention and value-chain management. Economic issues regard in particular evaluation of waste management options; "market failures" in the WM industry and dimensions of general interest that require public regulation; industrial organization of WM services and patterns of private sector involvement; use of economic instruments and market mechanisms for achieving WM targets. These issues are rapidly presented in their theoretical implications and later discussed on the basis of experience in EU countries