Illegal waste management has become a growing problem in Sweden, where criminal actors exploit weaknesses in supervision and the legal system to generate significant economic gains. This illegal waste management not only impacts the environment but also imposes costs on society, where municipalities and taxpayers often bear the expenses for cleaning up and restoring contaminated land. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate and analyse the economic and institutional factors behind illegal waste management. The study aims to identify how market characteristics, along with institutional conditions, enable the occurrence of illegal waste management. By highlighting these aspects, the thesis intends to contribute knowledge that can support the development of more effective policies and strategies for sustainable waste management. Furthermore, a qualitative method has been chosen for this study, where five semi-structured interviews were conducted digitally. A thematic analysis has been used to identify and analyse patterns in the data. The thesis identifies several interrelated factors that enable illegal waste management: high transaction costs, asymmetric information, negative externalities, moral hazard, and opportunism. Understanding how these factors interact is crucial to developing effective measures. Current regulations and oversight are inadequate due to a lack of resources, leading to a low risk of detection. This, combined with lenient penalties, fails to deter illegal waste management, indicating a need for stronger institutional frameworks and more effective oversight mechanisms. Combating illegal waste management requires a combination of measures, including increased cooperation between authorities, improved supervision, adjusted incentive structures, and increased awareness. / Illegal avfallshantering har blivit ett växande problem i Sverige, där kriminella aktörer utnyttjar brister i tillsyn och rättssystem för att generera betydande ekonomiska vinster. Den illegala avfallshanteringen påverkar inte bara miljön utan medför även kostnader för samhället, där kommunerna och skattebetalarna ofta får stå för sanering och återställande av förorenad mark. Uppsatsens syfte är att undersöka och analysera de ekonomiska och institutionella faktorerna bakom illegal avfallshantering. Studien syftar till att identifiera hur marknadens egenskaper, tillsammans med institutionella förhållanden, möjliggör förekomsten av illegal avfallshantering. Genom att belysa dessa aspekter avser uppsatsen att bidra med kunskap som kan stödja utformningen av mer effektiva policyer och strategier för hållbar avfallshantering. Vidare har en kvalitativ metod valts för studien, där fem semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes digitalt. För att identifiera och analysera mönster i datamaterialet användes en tematisk analys. Uppsatsen identifierar flera samverkande faktorer som möjliggör illegal avfallshantering: höga transaktionskostnader, asymmetrisk information, negativa externa effekter, moral hazard och opportunism. Att förstå hur dessa faktorer samverkar är avgörande för att effektiva åtgärder ska kunna utvecklas. Nuvarande regleringar och tillsyn är otillräckliga på grund av bristande resurser, vilket leder till låg upptäcktsrisk. Detta i kombination med låga straff, avskräcker inte illegal avfallshantering, vilket indikerar ett behov av starkare institutionella ramar och effektivare tillsynsmekanismer. För att bekämpa illegal avfallshantering krävs en kombination av åtgärder, inklusive ökad myndighetssamverkan, förstärkt tillsyn, justerade incitamentsstrukturer och ökad medvetenhet.

Negli ultimi anni, la gestione illegale dei rifiuti ha attirato l’attenzione pubblica e dell’accademia. A causa delle sue conseguenze negative non solo per l’ambiente, ma anche per la salute pubblica e la crescita economica, gli esperti hanno cominciato ad esplorare le dinamiche del fenomeno e le possibilità di prevenzione. Alcuni studi hanno evidenziato l’esistenza di diversi fattori che possono determinare la gestione illegale dei rifiuti, ma pochi di essi hanno empiricamente testato la validità dei fattori stessi. Di conseguenza, si avverte la necessità di produrre nuova conoscenza sull’argomento. Il presente studio consiste in un’analisi esplorativa di fattori socio-economici, fattori di policy e di performance, e fattori criminali che influenzano la gestione illegale dei rifiuti in Italia. Dopo aver identificato le determinanti considerate rilevanti dalla letteratura, l’obiettivo è quello di testarle empiricamente. Per prima cosa, grazie all’unicità di un dataset creato sul contesto italiano, nello studio si indaga quantitativamente l’effetto di diversi fattori sul fenomeno attraverso un’analisi econometrica. Successivamente, lo studio prosegue con un’analisi “crime script” al fine di esplorare quali fattori suggeriti dalla letteratura e testati nella parte quantitativa emergono anche da casi studio e come effettivamente intervengono nel ciclo dei rifiuti italiano. I risultati indicano che la gestione illegale dei rifiuti è determinata da: i) uno scarso sviluppo economico e demografico, un alto livello d’istruzione nel territorio, la presenza di turisti; ii) l'inefficienza della normativa ambientale, delle forze dell’ordine e delle prestazioni sui rifiuti; iii) la presenza di criminalità organizzata e la diffusione di crimini economici e fiscali. Prendendo spunto da questi risultati, lo studio non solo aumenta la conoscenza sul fenomeno, ma è anche in grado di avanzare alcuni suggerimenti di policy per contrastare efficacemente le condotte illegali legate alla gestione dei rifiuti. / In the last several decades, illegal waste management (IWM) has attracted great academic and public attention. Due to its negative consequences not only for the environment, but also for public health and economic growth, scholars started to be interested in the dynamics of IWM and in how to prevent it. Some studies stressed the existence of different factors that can determine the phenomenon, but very few of them have empirically tested their validity. Consequently, developing new research on the topic is still necessary. The present study conducts an explorative analysis of the socio-economic, policy and performance-driven and criminal factors influencing IWM in Italy. After the identification of the most relevant determinants according to the literature, the objective is to empirically test them. First, thanks to a unique dataset focused on the Italian context, the study quantitatively investigates the effect of different factors on the phenomenon through an econometric analysis. Second, the study realises a crime script analysis to explore which factors suggested by the literature and tested in the quantitative part emerge also in concrete case studies and how they effectively intervene in the Italian waste cycle. Results indicate that IWM is determined by: i) a low level of economic development and population density, a high level of education and tourists’ presence; ii) inefficiency in environmental regulation, enforcement and waste performances; iii) the presence of organised crime and the diffusion of economic and fiscal crimes. According to these findings, the study not only deepens the knowledge of the phenomenon, but it is also able to provide some policy suggestions to efficiently hinder illegal conducts related to waste management.