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The Costs of Disposal and Recycling: An Application to Italian Municipal Solid Waste Services

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  • Graziano Abrate
  • Fabrizio Erbetta
  • Giovanni Fraquelli
  • Davide Vannoni

Abstract

Abrate G., Erbetta F., Fraquelli G. and Vannoni D. The costs of disposal and recycling: an application to Italian municipal solid waste services, Regional Studies . The paper investigates the costs of waste disposal and recycling services by using a well-behaved Composite cost function model. The estimates on a unique sample of more than 500 Italian municipalities highlight that the refuse collection technology exhibits constant returns to scale as well as scope economies between disposal and recycling. As far as the size of the municipality increases, scope economies rise up to 20%, but they are accompanied by overall diseconomies of scale. The findings suggest that, on the one hand, joint management of disposal and recycling should be encouraged and, on the other hand, that strategies aimed at increasing the share of waste sent for recycling would not imply a considerable increase in total costs.

Suggested Citation

  • Graziano Abrate & Fabrizio Erbetta & Giovanni Fraquelli & Davide Vannoni, 2014. "The Costs of Disposal and Recycling: An Application to Italian Municipal Solid Waste Services," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(5), pages 896-909, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:regstd:v:48:y:2014:i:5:p:896-909
    DOI: 10.1080/00343404.2012.689425
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    1. Graziano Abrate & Fabrizio Erbetta & Giovanni Fraquelli & Davide Vannoni, 2015. "The cost of corruption in the Italian solid waste industry," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 24(2), pages 439-465.
    2. Bottasso, Anna & Conti, Maurizio & Vannoni, Davide, 2019. "Scale and (quasi) scope economies in airport technology. An application to UK airports," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 150-164.
    3. Graziano Abrate & Federico Boffa & Fabrizio Erbetta & Davide Vannoni, 2013. "Corruption, Accountability and Efficiency. An Application to Municipal Solid Waste Services," Working papers 022, Department of Economics, Social Studies, Applied Mathematics and Statistics (Dipartimento di Scienze Economico-Sociali e Matematico-Statistiche), University of Torino.
    4. Henning Best & Thorsten Kneip, 2019. "Assessing the Causal Effect of Curbside Collection on Recycling Behavior in a Non-randomized Experiment with Self-reported Outcome," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 72(4), pages 1203-1223, April.
    5. Francesca Bartolacci & Antonella Paolini & Anna Grazia Quaranta & Michela Soverchia, 2017. "Performance economiche e ambientali nelle aziende italiane di igiene urbana: prime evidenze empiriche," MANAGEMENT CONTROL, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2017(2), pages 33-51.
    6. Valente, Marica, 2023. "Policy evaluation of waste pricing programs using heterogeneous causal effect estimation," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    7. repec:tur:wpapnw:4 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Thomas C. Kinnaman & Kenji Takeuchi (ed.), 2014. "Handbook on Waste Management," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 14571.
    9. Giuseppe Cinquegrana & Serena Migliardo & Domenico Sarno, 2016. "Comparative analysis of private and public provision of the water and waste services by the Italian municipalities," ECONOMIA PUBBLICA, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2016(3), pages 149-176.
    10. Francesca Bartolacci & Rosanna Salvia & Giovanni Quaranta & Luca Salvati, 2022. "Seeking the Optimal Dimension of Local Administrative Units: A Reflection on Urban Concentration and Changes in Municipal Size," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-17, November.
    11. Graziano Abrate & Federico Boffa & Fabrizio Erbetta & Davide Vannoni, 2018. "Voters’ Information, Corruption, and the Efficiency of Local Public Services," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-22, December.
    12. Maria Assunta Barchiesi & Roberta Costa & Francesca Di Pillo, 2022. "The Link between the Compliance with Environmental Legislation on Separate Collection and the Municipal Solid Waste Costs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-13, May.
    13. Germà Bel & Marianna Sebo, 2020. "Introducing and enhancing competition to improve solid waste management in Barcelona," IREA Working Papers 202004, University of Barcelona, Research Institute of Applied Economics, revised Apr 2020.
    14. De Jaeger, Simon & Rogge, Nicky, 2014. "Cost-efficiency in packaging waste management: The case of Belgium," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 106-115.
    15. Fusco, Elisa & Allegrini, Veronica, 2020. "The role of spatial interdependence in local government cost efficiency: An application to waste Italian sector," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    16. Marius PETRESCU & Ionica ONCIOIU & Anca-Gabriela PETRESCU & Florentina-Raluca BÎLCAN & Mihai PETRESCU & Dumitru-Alexandru STOICA, 2021. "Estimating the Dynamics of Household Waste Management in Turkey," Journal for Economic Forecasting, Institute for Economic Forecasting, vol. 0(2), pages 129-143, June.
    17. Graziano Abrate & Fabrizio Erbetta & Giovanni Fraquelli & Davide Vannoni, 2012. "Size and Density Economies in Refuse Collection," Carlo Alberto Notebooks 274, Collegio Carlo Alberto.
      • Graziano Abrate & Fabrizio Erbetta & Giovanni Fraquelli & Davide Vannoni, 2012. "Size and Density Economies in Refuse Collection," Working papers 009, Department of Economics, Social Studies, Applied Mathematics and Statistics (Dipartimento di Scienze Economico-Sociali e Matematico-Statistiche), University of Torino.
    18. Marques, Rui Cunha & da Cruz, Nuno Ferreira & Carvalho, Pedro, 2012. "Assessing and exploring (in)efficiency in Portuguese recycling systems using non-parametric methods," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 34-43.
    19. Alessio D'Amato & Massimiliano Mazzanti & Francesco Nicolli & Mariangela Zoli, 2014. "Illegal Waste Disposal, Territorial Enforcement and Policy. Evidence from regional data," SEEDS Working Papers 0314, SEEDS, Sustainability Environmental Economics and Dynamics Studies, revised Feb 2014.

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    JEL classification:

    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • H42 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Publicly Provided Private Goods
    • L33 - Industrial Organization - - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise - - - Comparison of Public and Private Enterprise and Nonprofit Institutions; Privatization; Contracting Out
    • L99 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Other

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