Handbook of Recycling

Chapter 34

Voluntary and Negotiated Agreements

Ernst Worrell     Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands

Abstract

Voluntary or negotiated agreements (VA/NAs) are the third-generation policy instruments applied by governments after regulation and economic instruments. In the 1990s these have become the instrument of choice in many member countries of the Organisation for Economic Management and Co-operation (OECD) for environmental policy, ranging from public health and greenhouse gas mitigation to waste management. In waste management and recycling, extended producer responsibility is a special form of NA that has gained ground in many OECD countries. A VA/NA is an agreement between (selected) ...