Drivers of solid waste collection costs. Empirical evidence from Italy

The paper analyses the factors that determine the solid waste collection costs. Studying a sample of Italian municipalities, the research estimates the collection costs of different types of waste: paper and paperboard, multimaterial (glass, plastic, metal), organic, residual undifferentiated waste. The findings show that the economies of scale and the cost drivers differ across the types of waste. Among the cost drivers significantly affecting the different types of waste, we find: the population size and density, the percentage of separate collection, the percentage of home collection and the private delivery. Our study also highlights how the waste disposal firm internal efficiency significantly affects the collection costs with different degrees in each type of waste. The results may have interesting practical and policy implications for the waste costs management systems and for the overall waste management performance.