Every attempt by the NSW State Government to site waste treatment and disposal facilities has been met by opposition from local communities. Increasing interest is being shown in community consultation and public participation in the decision-making processes concerning the siting of waste management technologies. This thesis examines the rationale behind, and potential of, community consultation through an examination of two case studies. The thesis concludes that the reasons and remedies for local opposition typically given by experts and regulatory authorities are flawed. The engineering concerns which have dominated approaches to choosing and siting waste management technologies are of little consequence to the way in which communities judge whether the facilities pose an acceptable societal risk. The issues of concern to communities include the legitimacy of the decision-making process, the relative fairness of the decision to site, and whether the institutions responsible for managing and operating the technologies are trustworthy. If waste management technologies rely on local acceptability for their siting, the approach taken to resolve the waste problem must include societal as well as engineering concerns in the design of courses of action to manage the risk. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Ever since 1976, livestock farmers in Fiji have been intrigued about biogas digesters as an animal waste management measure, but the concept has never evolved into one that is sustainable. Renewed interest came in 1997 after a better Chinese Modified Dome (CMD) design was established, with this came government funding, however by 2002, some failure was also observed. This study set out to investigate the reasons why biogas digesters have never been established as a sustainable concept, its effectiveness as an animal waste management tool and what changes if any, can be made to try and influence the further development of the concept in Fiji. In order to achieve the objectives, which were simply obtaining the answers to the questions presented above, several different approaches had to be followed. This study was the first on biogas digesters in Fiji and it was unique in the sense that the major component dealt with the social aspects of farmers in relation to their biogas digesters. Basically the study was carried out in two parts - desktop studies and field studies. Desktop studies were done to better understand the situation while the field studies included semi-structured interviews with the farmers as well as the collection of biophysical data. Twelve outcomes are presented in chapter 7 of this paper. Two in particular are the improvement of construction and maintenance, which can only come about through training. The research questions are also answered in chapter 7, with recommendations put forward on possible directions to take in terms of trying to influence the development of the concept in Fiji / Master of Science (Hons)

<p>This paper analyses the solid waste management (SWM) process in Nairobi, Kenya and studies the roles and actions of the actors involved in this process, putting emphasis on the role of informal actors and their relationship with the city authorities. Based on semistructured interviews and participant observation conducted on the field in Nairobi, Kenya, the results of this paper suggest that the role of informal waste collectors in the Kibera settlement is essential. In most parts of Kibera, the municipal SWM seems to be non-existent. Thus the collection and transport is often carried out by informal waste collector groups. Furthermore, the relationship between informal actors and authorities is highly complex and ambivalent. The local authorities claim to have acknowledged the important role of the informal actors; however the latter are more or less neglected by the NCC in the overall solid waste management sector.</p>

<p>Sweden is a long-term world reference country in terms of sustainable development. On the other hand, Barcelona has recently made great efforts in order to improve and to make society aware of the importance of environmental issues. Hence, it would be interesting to investigate if these efforts had succeeded in the waste’s management in Barcelona compared to other leading European cities, and particularly to the case of Gävle.</p><p>In this work, the operation of the management of the urban solid wastes of the two cities is explained.</p><p>First, the objectives marked by Agenda 21 of each locality are exposed. Next, a theoretical perspective about management, generation of wastes and types of waste treatment is provided. In the following chapter, the results of the generation of wastes, selective collection and the treatments of the wastes are shown for both the cases of Barcelona and Gävle until the 2006.</p><p>Finally, the two cities are compared and the results obtained in the management of the wastes are discussed.</p><p>The conclusion in this study is that Barcelona has improved noticeable in terms of environmentally safe management of the wastes. This has happened thanks to the efforts of the city council and of the citizens.</p><p>But It is still necessary to make a major effort by the inhabitants of Barcelona.</p>

<p>Abstract</p><p>It is estimated that up to 2 percent of the population in Third World countries survives on waste in one way or another. In Mexico City alone there exist 15,000 garbage scavengers called Pepenadores. The poverty and marginalization they experience is utterly linked to their work, and while they do much of the hard work their socio-economic situation seems stagnant. This paper explores the complexity of the waste management system in Mexico City which keeps them in this position, and how the current system is a manifestation of the existing symbiosis between the formal and informal sectors of the city.The main characters in the maintenance of this system are the leaders of waste management associations.Their struggle to maintain their powerful positions influences both the system’s relationship to the public sector and determines the socioeconomic situation of the Pepenadores.The paper also analyzes the effects of past efforts to change the system, and how policy changes always seem to work against the Pepenadores. Efforts to help the Pepenadores escape their vulnerable positions can be successful in the short-term, but the existing social structure in Mexico City make any permanent changes difficult to achieve.</p>

Waste management is something that affects most people. Thewaste amounts are still increasing, but the waste treatment ischanging towards recycling and integrated solutions. In Swedenproducers’responsibility for different products, a taxand bans on deposition of waste at landfills implicates areorganisation of the municipal solid waste management. Plansare made for new incineration plants, which leads to that wastecombustion comes to play a role in the reorganisation of theSwedish energy system as well. The energy system is supposed toadapt to governmental decisions on decommission of nuclearplants and decreased use of fossil fuels. Waste from private households consists of hazardous waste,scrap waste, waste electronics and wastes that to a largeextent are generated in the kitchen. The latter type has beenstudied in this thesis, except for newsprint, glass- and metalpackages that by source separation haven’t ended up in thewaste bin. Besides the remaining amount of the above mentionedfractions, the waste consists of food waste, paper, cardboard-and plastic packages and inert material. About 80-90 % of thismixed household waste is combustible, and the major part ofthat is also possible to recycle. Several systems analyses of municipalsolid waste managementhave been performed. Deposition at landfill has been comparedto energy recovery, recycling of material (plastic andcardboard) and recycling of nutrients (in food waste).Environmental impact, fuel consumption and costs are calculatedfor the entire lifecycle from the households, until the wasteis treated and the by-products have been taken care of. To stop deposition at landfills is the most importantmeasure to take as to decrease the environmental impact fromlandfills, and instead use the waste as a resource, therebysubstituting production from virgin resources (avoidingresource extraction and emissions). The best alternative tolandfilling is incineration, but also material recycling andbiological treatment are possible. Recycling of plastic has slightly less environmental impactand energy consumption than incineration. The difference issmall due to that plastic is such a small part of the totalwaste amount, and that just a small part of the collectedamount is recycled. Cardboard recycling is comparable toincineration; there are both advantages and disadvantages.Source separation of food waste may lead to higher transportemissions due to intensified collection, but severalenvironmental advantages are observed if the waste is digestedand the produced biogas substitutes diesel in busses.Composting has no environmental advantages compared toincineration, mainly due to lack of energy recovery. Therecycling options are more expensive than incineration. Theincreased cost must be seen in relation to the environmentalbenefits and decreased energy use. If the work with sourceseparation made by the households is included in the analysis,the welfare costs for source separation and recycling becomesnon-profitable. It is however doubted how much time is consumedand how it should be valuated in monetary terms. In systems analyses, several impacts are not measured.Environmental impact has been studied, but not allenvironmental impact. As the parts of the system are underconstant change, the results are not true forever. Recyclingmay not be unambiguously advantageous today, but it can be inthe future. Despite the fact that systems analysis has been developedduring 10 years in Sweden, there are still many decisions takenregarding waste management without support from systemsanalysis and use of computer models. The minority of users ispleased with the results achieved, but the systems analysis isfar from easy to use. The adaptation of tools and models to thedemands from the potential users should consider thatorganisations of different sizes have shifting demands andneeds. The application areas for systems analysis and models arestrategic planning, decisions about larger investments andeducation in universities and within organisations. Systemsanalysis and models may be used in pre-planning procedures. Apotential is a more general application (Technology Assessment)in predominantly waste- and biofuel based energy processes, butalso for assessment of new technical components in a systemsperspective. The methodology and systems approach developedwithin the systems analysis has here been transformed to anassessment of environmental, economic and technical prestandaof technical systems in a broad sense.

This paper analyses the solid waste management (SWM) process in Nairobi, Kenya and studies the roles and actions of the actors involved in this process, putting emphasis on the role of informal actors and their relationship with the city authorities. Based on semistructured interviews and participant observation conducted on the field in Nairobi, Kenya, the results of this paper suggest that the role of informal waste collectors in the Kibera settlement is essential. In most parts of Kibera, the municipal SWM seems to be non-existent. Thus the collection and transport is often carried out by informal waste collector groups. Furthermore, the relationship between informal actors and authorities is highly complex and ambivalent. The local authorities claim to have acknowledged the important role of the informal actors; however the latter are more or less neglected by the NCC in the overall solid waste management sector.

Abstract It is estimated that up to 2 percent of the population in Third World countries survives on waste in one way or another. In Mexico City alone there exist 15,000 garbage scavengers called Pepenadores. The poverty and marginalization they experience is utterly linked to their work, and while they do much of the hard work their socio-economic situation seems stagnant. This paper explores the complexity of the waste management system in Mexico City which keeps them in this position, and how the current system is a manifestation of the existing symbiosis between the formal and informal sectors of the city.The main characters in the maintenance of this system are the leaders of waste management associations.Their struggle to maintain their powerful positions influences both the system’s relationship to the public sector and determines the socioeconomic situation of the Pepenadores.The paper also analyzes the effects of past efforts to change the system, and how policy changes always seem to work against the Pepenadores. Efforts to help the Pepenadores escape their vulnerable positions can be successful in the short-term, but the existing social structure in Mexico City make any permanent changes difficult to achieve.

Waste generation rates continue to grow around the world, creating a need for more comprehensive waste management strategies to meet sustainability needs. Remote islands are profoundly affected by the growth in waste and have a critical need to develop policy that addresses their unique characteristics, such as limited land space for waste disposal, higher per capita waste generation rates due to tourism, and lack of opportunities for interstate waste transport. This case study investigated one Hawaiian County's collaborative approach to adopting a new solid waste management policy. Ostrom's Institutional Analysis and Development Framework (IAD) was utilized to examine the facilitating and impeding institutional factors that affect the adoption of more sustainable waste management approaches on remote islands. The impeding factors that created barriers to sustainability included blueprint models, lack of financial incentives, financial cost, infrastructure, exclusion from waste services, remoteness, and illegal dumping. Facilitating factors were environmental concerns and exemplary waste examples by other communities. Recommendations are provided for addressing these barriers and using the available opportunities to work toward greater sustainable resource management on remote islands.

The WM sector in Nairobi is a failure. Collection rates are deplorable, regulations go unenforced and the municipal landfill is desecrating the environment and killing neighbouring slum dwellers. This paper focuses on the exclusion and marginalization of the slums adjacent to Nairobi’s landfill, Korogocho and Dandora, and uses a post-structuralist theoretical framework to conceptualize a just response to these exclusions and theorize an inclusive approach to waste policy in Nairobi. Building on the work of Jacques Derrida, I present a ‘deconstructive ethic’ for development that is dedicated to mitigating and overcoming the production of alterity, and reintegrating excluded communities and knowledges into the sites of knowledge and policy creation. This ethic is used to formulate a five-part response to the conditions of exclusion experienced in Korogocho and Dandora, and to engage these populations in finding participatory solutions to the city’s waste problem.