The Plymouth City Council in Devon has implemented a number of tough penalties for people who do not recycle, or who put the wrong things in the recycling or the garbage. There are some residents who do not recycle properly, and others still who do not recycle at all, so the City Council decided to be stricter about enforcing the rules of recycling. In an article entitled “Householders face tougher recycling penalties” written by Richard Savill and Christopher Hope in 2008, the consequences put into place for people who do not recycle properly are examined. The city Council used to make people pay a fine of £50 if they broke the laws, but they have increased the fine to £110 if the regulations for recycling are broken, which is the maximum amount that the fines are allowed to be. They also sent around a questionnaire to each household, asking the household to nominate one adult who will be responsible for the recycling bins that get put on the curb and for what goes in them.
This makes it easier for the City Council to persecute one person because they can lay the blame on that person.
This is an example of regulatory control because the government is telling the citizens what they must do, and making consequences for them if they do not follow what they have said. In many other cities, the same recycling laws apply but it is harder for the government to be able to tell who the one at fault is when the recycling regulations are not followed. Especially in the case of apartments and houses where many adults live, the city cannot always tell who the person who should be fined and persecuted is. However, with the system set up in Devon, it is very easy to be able to tell because one adult in each household has declared themselves responsible for it. Instead of using regulatory control in this instance, the Plymouth City Council could have used economic incentives and instead of punishing the residents for breaking the rules, they could be rewarding them for following the rules. The Council is being very stringent and there are many people in Devon who are not pleased with the fines and punishments that are being brought on them. Many of the residents believe that the penalties are too harsh and it is making a lot of them not want to recycle. Erin Pickles, the Conservatives’ shadow Local Government Secretary said “We should be making it easy for families to go green, not extending the intrusive, noisy, heavy hand of the state” (2008).
Some of the economic incentives they could put into place would be to reward the households and businesses who recycle properly by giving them money for every bag of recycling they have or for every less bag of garbage they have. They can also give businesses tax rebates if they produce a smaller amount of waste. I believe that regulatory control is important in many cases and I do think it is a good idea for there to be a fine for people who do not follow the law, but I think that the fine that the Plymouth City Council in Devon implemented is too high. I think that if they used more economic incentives, more people would be willing to recycle and would not be as frustrated and angry with the government. Many people can be lazy when it comes to environmental issues if it makes life a little more difficult for them, but if there is some reason why they should recycle which benefits them directly, they would be more willing to do what is right and what they have been told to do.
Reference
Savill, R., Hope, C. Householders face tougher recycling penalties. Telegraph.co.uk. 27 May 2008. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2038124/Householders-face-tougher-recycling-penalties.html. Accessed 14 November 2009.
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Kate, i enjoyed reading your blog. You examined the benefits and drawbacks of both regulatory control and economic incentives. i especially liked how you discussed why the current regulatory plans currently being implemented by the local government was causing conflict with the residents. A great job.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog this week Kate! I liked how you included examples of recycling systems in other cities and the flaws that occur within these systems. I also liked how you mentioned some of the city peoples’ reactions that resulted from this regulation, it gave another side to the situation. Lastly, I thought it was great how you provided several examples of economic incentives that could be implemented instead of the control regulation. I think you could have given a specific example in your conclusion about how people can be lazy when it comes to environmental issues, this would just add some verification to your opinion.
ReplyDeletei think you picked an interesting blog topic. I think your conclusion nicely summarizes your points. I like how you included different points of views, it made your blog very interesting to read
ReplyDeleteThis post certainly illustrates an example of very heavy-handed regulatory control. The idea of one person in a household being solely responsible for paying any potential fines would likely anger most people, while also creating potential for complications with such a system. For example, what about households in which more than one group shares the curbside for leaving all their collective garbage, such as shared student houses? What happens if everyone in a household refuses to be the nominee? I agree that when encouraging citizens to engage in an action, such as properly sorting waste, we should do just that: encourage them, rather than attempt to discourage the opposite action.
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