The Danish model for sustainable waste solutions
Public/private partnership
The solid waste management sector is relatively costly. Thus it is understandable that models are preferred securing a coupling between analyses and planning projects and that resulting reports point out the need for further development of the physical structure of the waste management system (collection and transport means, treatment plants and landfill facilities etc.).
In this connection, public/private partnership - or collaboration within and between the public and the private sectors - constitutes a central model in which interpublic co-operation combined with involvement of the private sector is a dynamic element in the implementation of new solid waste management systems.
In Denmark, the whole spectrum of solutions is found: private, public/private, semi-public, public and a large number of intermunicipal associations. Experience is extensive, but it is commonly recognized that well-developed public administration and legislation are prerequisites for any investors to enter the field of solid waste management.
The development of public/private partnerships is thus tightly connected to the capacity building of public administration and institutions.
Even when the private sector is involved in design, construction, financing and operation of waste management systems, important questions and tasks for the public sector remain.
Which models of organisation and co-operation are preferable: direct contracts for individual plants, concessions, franchises or open competition?
Which methods of control and regulation will be relevant for which objectives? When will a solution need direct legislation; when are incentives useful (e.g. tax reductions or subsidies); where do information campaigns work and are there limits to private sector involvement and performance?
Only by connecting the "soft components" (legislation, planning, design, administration etc.) of the solid waste management sector to its "hard components" (plants, equipment etc.) will a successful development of the waste systems be secured. This connection is part of the Danish model and will be brought into any international project by the Danish participants.
