1. The Implementation of Taxation One of the methods of tackling pollution could be implementing taxation by the “polluter-pays principle”. This means that whoever may cause pollution should have to pay to clean it up, one way or another. According to EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) (2012), they implement the “polluter-pays principle” by imposing waste water charges, bills for water supply and sanitation services in order to improve water quality of surface water. It could mean that tanker owners should have to take out insurance that covers the cost of the oil spill settlement. It could also mean that factory owners should have to pay extra cost for sewage treatment. This illustrates the “polluter-pays” taxation may operate in a wide range of circumstances.
A major concern, however, is whether the “polluter-pays” taxation practically applies to domestic water usage. Under the WFD, domestic users will pay for the water they use and also for the post-use treatment of that water. This is already the case in the UK, where domestic users have to pay as much for the quantity of waste water they accessed to and as for the sewers, the water they draw from