Implementation of Municipal Solid Waste Regulations in Israel

Abstract

Regulation has an enormous impact on the various industrial and economic markets. As a residual component at the end-of-life of consumption products, regulation also plays a crucial role in municipal solid waste (MSW) markets. While local authorities in Israel are responsible for the storage, collection, and disposal of MSW, Israel’s Ministry of Environmental Protection (MoEP) is responsible for formulating waste management regulation and legislation. For the past 12 years, about 80% of the waste in Israel has been landfilled and recycling rates have not increased, despite regulations. This paper presents the state of MSW management in Israel in the light of the MoEP’s strategic goal of landfilling reduction, the regulations and legislation designed and implemented for achieving this goal, and the ensuing results. Among other things, the results indicate the importance of monitoring and assessing policy and regulations to examine whether regulation is effective and whether it keeps track of its own targets and goals or not.