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  4. Decoupling municipal solid waste generation and economic growth in the canton of Vaud, Switzerland
 
research article

Decoupling municipal solid waste generation and economic growth in the canton of Vaud, Switzerland

Jaligot, Rémi  
•
Chenal, Jérôme  
2018
Resources, Conservation and Recycling

Switzerland is one of the largest producers of municipal solid waste (MSW) per capita. The principle of decoupling attempts to evaluate the relationship between consumption and production, and to measure the relationship between an activity and its impact on the environment. This paper uses the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis to understand the impact of three socio-economic drivers on MSW generation in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. Vaud is a French-speaking canton that recently implemented several measures to limit MSW generation. We used time series of indicators for income, urbanisation and policy implementation in ten of the canton’s districts, which were set as independent variables, between 1996 and 2015. A panel data analysis was performed using a generalized least squares procedure to test for an EKC. Evidence shows that urbanization was slightly negatively associated with MSW generation, but without statistical significance. However, a direct policy mechanism such as the waste bag tax was significantly correlated with a decrease in waste generation. Overall, the presence of an EKC cannot be confirmed in the canton of Vaud, as waste generation tends to stabilize as income increases. It would be useful to perform a similar assessment in other cantons to fully inform decision-makers.

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Type
research article
DOI
10.1016/j.resconrec.2017.12.014
Author(s)
Jaligot, Rémi  
•
Chenal, Jérôme  
Date Issued

2018

Published in
Resources, Conservation and Recycling
Volume

130

Start page

260

End page

266

Subjects

Solid waste management

•

socio-economic drivers

•

decoupling

•

policies

•

Switzerland

Editorial or Peer reviewed

REVIEWED

Written at

EPFL

EPFL units
CEAT  
Available on Infoscience
August 19, 2017
Use this identifier to reference this record
https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/139711
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