Barriers to the use of voluntary agreements: a case study of the development of packaging waste regulations in the UK

✍ Scribed by Nunan, Fiona

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1999
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 132 KB
• Volume: 9
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0961-0405
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1099-0976(199911/12)9:6<238::aid-eet207>3.0.co;2-j

✦ Synopsis

The development of plans to implement the 1994 EC Directive on Packaging and Packaging Waste in the UK provides a case study of why it is often difficult to use voluntary measures to achieve policy objectives. An analysis of the case study reveals that the fear of some companies refusing to participate in efforts to implement the directive, the lack of adequate data on packaging flows and the number and diversity of companies involved in the negotiations with government made a voluntary agreement impossible to develop. Despite the government's initial desire to avoid regulation, legislation, and associated regulatory measures, were introduced because of their concern over the slow pace of the negotiations and in response to pressure from industry representatives. The factors that prevented the use of voluntary agreements in this case study are relevant to many other areas of environmental policy, questioning the potential for the use of voluntary measures alone.