Markets, technology and environmental regulation: price ambivalence of waste paper in Germany
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In: Ecological Economics, Vol. 47, No. 2-3, 01.12.2003, p. 183-195.
Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Markets, technology and environmental regulation
T2 - price ambivalence of waste paper in Germany
AU - Baumgärtner, Stefan
AU - Winkler, Ralph
PY - 2003/12/1
Y1 - 2003/12/1
N2 - We examine the price ambivalence of low quality waste paper (grades 1.02 and 1.04) on the German market. Since 1990 the price of these grades is at times positive and at times negative. The underlying reason is the combination of three institutional and technical characteristics of the market: (i) As a result of waste management legislation the supply of waste paper is mostly independent of its price and its demand. Supply is bounded from below by collection and utilization quotas fixed by the Regulation on Packaging Waste enacted in 1991. (ii) The only alternative to costly disposal of waste paper by dumping or incineration is its use as a secondary resource in the production of new paper, as only the paper industry is capable of using waste paper in a productive manner in significant amount. (iii) Yet, its use as a substitute for primary inputs is technically limited. In this article, we describe the technical and institutional conditions leading to price ambivalence and discuss the consequences for supply, demand and trade of waste paper.
AB - We examine the price ambivalence of low quality waste paper (grades 1.02 and 1.04) on the German market. Since 1990 the price of these grades is at times positive and at times negative. The underlying reason is the combination of three institutional and technical characteristics of the market: (i) As a result of waste management legislation the supply of waste paper is mostly independent of its price and its demand. Supply is bounded from below by collection and utilization quotas fixed by the Regulation on Packaging Waste enacted in 1991. (ii) The only alternative to costly disposal of waste paper by dumping or incineration is its use as a secondary resource in the production of new paper, as only the paper industry is capable of using waste paper in a productive manner in significant amount. (iii) Yet, its use as a substitute for primary inputs is technically limited. In this article, we describe the technical and institutional conditions leading to price ambivalence and discuss the consequences for supply, demand and trade of waste paper.
KW - Sustainability sciences, Management & Economics
KW - Environmental regulation
KW - Price ambivalence
KW - Primary and secondary resources
KW - Waste disposal
KW - Waste paper
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=18344418804&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/S0921-8009(03)00194-0
DO - 10.1016/S0921-8009(03)00194-0
M3 - Journal articles
VL - 47
SP - 183
EP - 195
JO - Ecological Economics
JF - Ecological Economics
SN - 0921-8009
IS - 2-3
ER -