Zeitschrift für Umweltverschmutzung

Water contamination is a pressing issue globally, and China faces significant challenges due to its large population, rapid industrialization, and extensive agricultural activities. Various scenarios of water contamination in China highlight the complexity and diversity of pollution sources, which range from industrial effluents to agricultural runoff and urban wastewater discharges. One scenario involves industrial pollution, where manufacturing facilities discharge pollutants such as heavy metals, organic chemicals, and toxic substances into water bodies. China's industrial sector, which includes manufacturing, mining, and chemical production, has experienced rapid growth in recent decades. While industrial activities drive economic development, they also generate large quantities of wastewater containing harmful pollutants. In regions with heavy industrial activity, such as the Pearl River Delta and the Yangtze River Basin, industrial pollution poses serious risks to water quality and public health.

Air pollution is a pressing global issue that poses significant threats to public health, the environment, and economies worldwide. In response to this challenge, governments, international organizations, and communities have implemented various air pollution control policies aimed at reducing emissions of harmful pollutants. While these policies often incur short-term costs, their long-term impacts are profound and multifaceted. This essay explores the enduring effects of air pollution control policies, ranging from improvements in public health to economic benefits and environmental sustainability; Air pollution control policies play a pivotal role in safeguarding public health over the long term. By reducing emissions of pollutants such as Particulate Matter (PM), Nitrogen Oxides (NOx), Sulfur Dioxide (SO2), and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), these policies mitigate the risk of respiratory diseases, cardiovascular conditions, and other health ailments associated with poor air quality. Studies have shown that long-term exposure to air pollution is linked to increased mortality rates and chronic health conditions. Therefore, by curbing pollution levels, air pollution control policies lead to healthier populations and reduced healthcare burdens, ultimately enhancing quality of life and longevity.

In the pursuit of sustainable manufacturing practices, remanufacturing has emerged as a promising strategy for reducing environmental impacts and promoting resource efficiency. However, conventional remanufacturing models often overlook the environmental implications associated with pollution-sensitive waste items. This essay presents a pollution-sensitive remanufacturing model that integrates waste items, emphasizing strategies to minimize pollution and enhance sustainability. By considering the lifecycle impacts of waste items and incorporating pollution mitigation measures into remanufacturing processes, this model aims to optimize environmental performance while maximizing economic and social benefits, Pollution-sensitive remanufacturing refers to a holistic approach that considers the environmental sensitivity of waste items throughout the remanufacturing process. Unlike traditional remanufacturing models that focus solely on product quality and cost-effectiveness, pollutionsensitive remanufacturing prioritizes pollution prevention, mitigation, and remediation measures to minimize adverse environmental impacts. This approach recognizes that certain waste items, such as hazardous materials, electronic components, and contaminated products, pose unique challenges and risks that must be addressed to ensure sustainable remanufacturing practices.

In this study, I examine the effectiveness of ambient charges a policy instrument aimed at reducing nonpoint source pollution originating from a duopolistic industry. Ganguli and Raju (2012) concluded in their study that ambient charges generate perverse effects under a Bertrand competition, implying that an increase in ambient charges by the government would increase total emissions. Accordingly, we argue that the effects of ambient charges become perverse depending on the degree of product differentiation between firms. In particular, ambient charges will not have perverse effects if an increase in the product price of one firm increases the market demand for the other firm’s product by nearly twofold. Therefore, when considering the effects of ambient charges in a duopolistic market, they might be an effective policy instrument not only under Cournot competition, which has already been verified, but also under Bertrand competition.