8.   Environmental Requirements to Consumers



In the final analysis it is consumers who are responsible for all pollution: It is they who demand the goods that industry produces, at the cost of some type of pollution or other. It is they who demand the products that agriculture produces, at the cost of overtaxing nature. It is they who drive the cars that pollute the air.

However, this book is arranged according to whom environmental requirements are directed. While the previous chapters have reviewed requirements to Danish industry, special plants and facilities, and agriculture, the present chapter reviews environmental requirements to Danish consumers.

Certain requirements are directed at consumers concerning waste management (Section 8.1), tap water quality (Section 8.2), sewage disposal from dwellings outside the sewerage system (Section 8.3), subterranean storage tanks for heating oil (Section 8.4), and disputes between neighbours (Section 8.5). Requirements are not imposed on consumers in their role as motorists, pollution associated with motoring being regulated through a vehicle model approval system for new cars, i.e. through requirements to car importers.

The way that the book is arranged should not lead one to underestimate the idea of regulating via consumers, however. Changes in consumer demand can have a decisive influence on pollution problems. The EC eco-labelling scheme, which is discussed in Section 5.1.2, is an example of an attempt to influence product choice in consumers. The consumer boycott of Shell in Germany, Holland and Denmark in June 1995 forced Shell to give up dumping the oil storage platform Brent Spar in the Atlantic a striking example of consumer power. The imposition or easing of levies and charges can also influence consumer behaviour, a topic that I discuss in detail in Chapter 12.

8.1.   Waste and recycling

The EC’s general and trade and industry oriented requirements on waste and recycling have been reviewed in Section 5.3.7. The nature of the remaining EC requirements is such that when drawing up national legislation, it is most natural to direct them at producers or importers. There are no rules of EC origin that are directed directly at consumers. Nevertheless, two sets of EC rules have special significance for consumers. One set concerns batteries and accumulators (Directive 91/157), and requires that Member States shall draw up action plans for reducing pollution from heavy metal-containing batteries. The rules also set limits for the mercury content of the latter, and require the labelling of batteries containing cadmium, lead or mercury. The other is Directive 94/62 on packaging and packaging waste, the crux of which is that it sets some goals for recycling of packaging waste. The Directive supersedes an older and more narrow Directive (85/339) which only required that bottles be removed from waste destined for landfills.

The Danish philosophy with respect to ordinary waste is based on the experience that waste streams should be kept separate if recycling is to be successful. From the technical point of view, waste can be sorted even if it has been mixed. Attempts were made with some plants of that kind in Denmark in the 1980s, but they were not viable; workers became infected with serious bacterial diseases because of the mixed waste.

The idea of separate waste streams now markedly influences the handling of household waste. In the following I will also consider the streams separately. In Section 8.1.1 I deal with the bottle recycling system, which is fundamentally a very old private economic idea based on the deposit system, but which is now supported by public regulations that only a limited number of bottles may circulate in the Danish retail trade. In Section 8.1.2 I deal with the municipal household waste collection system which in fact is also old, but which has developed over the last 10 years into differential waste streams, mainly due to initiatives at the municipal level, but also partly as a result of pressure from the State. Finally in Section 8.1.3 I deal with some of the agreements concerning special waste streams, all of which are recent.

8.1.1.   Bottle recycling system:

As far as glass is concerned, it should be pointed out that bottle types authorized in Denmark are recycled through a well established retailer-run bottle recycling system for soft drink and beer bottles, the incentive for which is a consumer deposit of at present DKK 1.25-5.00 (depending on bottle size). Thus with regard to such bottles, the Municipalities do not have to provide collection facilities. The bottle recycling system is regulated through requirements to bottle types and the prohibition of beer and soft drink cans1. In order to assist the retail trade the Danish EPA only allows a maximum of 30 different types of bottle to be in circulation. The system of authorizing bottle types has been brought before the EC Court, but with the result that the Court ruled in favour of permitting Denmark to continue with the system.

The EC requirements are therefore implemented partly through the bottle recycling system, and partly through segregated collection of waste. Denmark is of the opinion that Danish practice in this area is also consistent with the new packaging Directive (94/62).

Progress with the bottle recycling system is such that each deposit bottle is reused on average 35 times before it disappears or is disposed of.

8.1.2.   Municipal household waste collection service:

Sorting at source is also undertaken at household level. It is the Municipalities that are responsible for the waste collection service. Under current Danish legislation, they are bound to ensure separate collection of glass and paper. Most Municipalities do so by providing containers for the voluntary disposal of newspapers, cardboard and glass bottles/jars, etc., at strategic locations.

While some Municipalities do not require inhabitants to sort their waste further, it is becoming more common for Municipalities to require inhabitants to sort their waste into organic waste and other waste. The organic waste can be composted, one possibility being in the consumer’s own garden. The organic waste can also be used in biogas plants for producing electricity or heat, as is undertaken at a few locations. The non-organic waste is incinerated.

In order for such systems to function successfully, the Municipalities are very dependent on the positive participation of consumers. In most cases they get it. In the last resort, however, the Municipalities can penalize deficient participation by imposing extra charges for unsorted waste or by reporting incorrect sorting to the police, which results in a fine. Hence waste collection is not just a service for inhabitants - the latter also have duties under the system.

The majority of Municipalities have special disposal arrangements for items other than normal household waste, e.g. arrangements for garden refuse and large unwanted items (furniture, refrigerators, etc.).

Since 1991 the Municipalities have also systematically collected household oil and chemical waste, usually by providing locations to which inhabitants can deliver such waste voluntarily, but in some cases by arranging household collection. In this connection it should be mentioned that batteries containing more than 0.025% by weight of mercury are completely prohibited, and that batteries containing mercury, cadmium or lead have to bear a label informing the consumer that they have to be disposed of separately.

Progress on the regulation of household waste is such that among other things, 110,000 tonnes paper and 50,000 tonnes glass is now recycled, while 27,000 tonnes organic waste and 270,000 tonnes garden and park refuse is composted (1992 figures).

8.1.3.   Agreements on special waste streams:

During the 1990s the Minister for the Environment or the Danish EPA entered into a number of agreements aimed at ensuring separate streams for special wastes. The agreements were entered into with important relevant organizations, but the objective was to bring about the establishment of systems that would encourage individual households to participate in recycling. The agreements specify a goal for recycling of the item in question. If the goal is reached, the system will stabilize; if not, then the Minister can put forward political initiatives.


Agreements on recycling

The oldest is a 1991 agreement concerning a special system for nickel-cadmium (NiCd) batteries6, the goal of which is the collection of 75% of such batteries. During the first years the collection percentage was only 35%, however. Thus in an attempt to increase the collection percentage, the Minister has imposed a consumer levy of DKK 120 per kg on NiCd batteries while at the same time introducing compensation of DKK 120 per kg to the parties collecting the spent batteries.

In 1994 an agreement was entered into on the recycling of transport packaging. The goal is 80% recycling and it is intended that this be attained through the participation of trade enterprises in municipal collection schemes (in this case the households are not involved).

The most significant agreement concerns vehicle tyres. It was originally entered into in 1993, but the EC demanded changes on the basis of the state subsidy rules. Thus the agreement did not come into effect until 1995. The goal is 80% recycling of scrap tyres. A consumer levy of DKK 8 per new tyre is used as a subsidy to enterprises which collect tyres and deliver them to enterprises which convert the tyres to rubber granulate. Consumers should thus be able to freely deliver scrap tyres to tyre retail outlets or vehicle repair shops. The basis for the agreement is the situation where 2/3 (or 24,000 tonnes) of scrap tyres are deposited in landfills.

An agreement also exists for lead accumulators. It was entered into between private parties, but the Danish EPA has given the agreement its blessing. The goal in the agreement is a collection percentage of 95%, with the percentage so far reached being 90%. As some retailers have profited by not contributing financially, legislative intervention has now taken place as with NiCd batteries.