Using penalty money to…

Using penalty money to subsidize an environmental protection program is the least effective process. Like speeding, drinking and driving, all these penalties and fines do not necessary deter the offenders.

Proactive inspection, however, is the more effective approach, identifying potential hazards and issuing order to comply can reduce and eliminate the risk of major problems (e.g. spill, poisoning etc.). Setting up public disclosure system for business violators would also be a good option.

There are other effective solutions, for examples:

(1) Comprehensive monitoring and enforcement to ensure compliances by industries. According to surveys on the subject matter, evidence indicates that traditional regulatory structure with rigorous monitoring and enforcement remains the number one motivator for many facilities’ environmental compliance decisions. (Published in Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, 2011. Vol. 5(1) 3-24)

(2) Implementing public outreach and educational programs, e.g. create No-Littering campaigns to remind the public not to litter, instead of just promoting litter clean up programs, which ultimately is promoting “go ahead and litter because other people will clean it up anyway”.

All these require substantial and steady funding in order to operate effectively. Penalty money is mere petty cash.