A Contextual Approach to the Waste Disposal System: the Case of Incineration

  • B. Victor Bratley
Chapter

Abstract

One of the difficulties with writing about contemporary environmental issues is the continually changing economic and sociopolitical context. Take, for example, the waste paper market: when the first draft of this chapter was written, the market for waste paper had hit rock bottom and local authorities were having to pay recycling companies to take paper away. Today, however, the market has recovered strongly and waste paper is now a valuable resource, so much so that there has been a series of waste paper thefts throughout Britain (Materials Recycling Weekly, 1995, p. 7). Similarly, the sociopolitical context is in continual flux, environmental legislation is protean and non-committal, whilst trends in consumption are constantly changing. Although these continual fluctuations make analysis more complex, there is a more fundamental observation which can be made. If there is so much instability and uncertainty in the waste sector, why have Britain and the European Union prioritized long-term policy decisions which are rigid for the next 25 to 30 years? This chapter undertakes a contextual approach to issues surrounding the disposal of waste in Britain, arguing that a localized approach to waste management in the UK is necessary.

Keywords

Waste Management Household Waste Waste Paper Contextual Approach Political Ecology 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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Copyright information

© Macmillan Press Ltd 1999

Authors and Affiliations

  • B. Victor Bratley

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