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A comparison with last year's sample survey shows that total costs increased by eight per cent in the 10 largest municipalities in the country. Calculated per inhabitant, the combined cost of waste management totalled NOK 452. Calculated per ton of municipal waste, the cost of municipal waste management amounted to NOK 725. Of the combined waste management costs, capital costs accounted for slightly less than NOK 173 million. The municipalities set aside a total of NOK 70 million to build up an investment fund.
The total cost of municipal waste management in Norway came to NOK 1,974 million in 1995. Local governments (municipalities) collected NOK 1,878 million from subscribers in the form of waste collection charges. The average waste collection charge for normal household subscribers in the municipalities was NOK 924. Municipalities with waste sorting programmes had a waste collection charge that was NOK 26 higher on average compared to municipalities without waste sorting systems, according to a survey Statistics Norway has done in all of Norway's 435 municipalities.
Only NOK 9.1 million invested in recycling facilities
In 1995, municipalities invested NOK 196 million in the municipal waste sector. Investments in treatment facilities accounted for 38 per cent of this amount while collection and transport amounted to 36 per cent. Investments in recycling facilities accounted for the smallest share, slightly more than five per cent of the total amount. Several recycling facilities are, however, owned by intermunicipal companies or private firms. Their investments are only included here in those cases where the municipalities made direct investments in the companies.
Charges do not cover costs
The municipalities collected a total of NOK 1,878 million from subscribers in 1995. This works out to a contribution rate of 95 per cent. Seventy per cent of the municipalities had a contribution rate of between 90 and 110 per cent.
Big variation in waste collection charges
Municipalities are encouraged to differentiate waste collection charges as a way of promoting waste reduction and recycling. Forty per cent of the municipalities operated with differentiated charges. The average charge per household was NOK 924. Even though the charge varied greatly from municipality to municipality (NOK 110 to 1,672), most municipalities charged between NOK 700 and 1,200.
Waste sorting is not much more expensive
Of all the municipalities, 234 offered one or another form of waste sorting in 1995. The average waste collection charge in municipalities with one or more types of waste sorting programmes was NOK 931, while for municipalities without waste sorting it was NOK 905. It should, however, be kept in mind that the amount of the charge is dependent on other variables.