Abstract
The sustainable development goals SDGs are focus lens for society and policy makers to engage with in order to make global performance more sustainable. This chapter’s findings will help create a harmonised approach by embedding the SDGs into policy strategies. In order to achieve the SDGs, one must have strong policy implementation and engagement. The European Commission sets the policy and the individual countries within the European Union implement the policy. The European commission highlights the importance of civil society and other stakeholders’ engagement to successfully reach the 2030 agenda and its sustainable development goals. This chapter will examine the challenges of the implementation of waste management policy with a particular focus on solid and liquid waste management. The core issues surrounding water quality, sanitation, air quality and soil quality effected by lack of stakeholder engagement and poor policy implementation will be outlined. The sustainable development goals influenced by good waste management incorporating both policy implementation and engagement will be outlined. The sustainable development goal 17 and its link with strong communication integrating both bottom-up and top-down approaches will also be discussed.
The best practices and challenges for environmental policy surrounding waste management will be outlined within the European perspective with a large focus on Ireland. Gaps in knowledge surrounding policy and engagement in relation to waste management and the achievement of the sustainable development goals such as clean water and improvement in health will be addressed. The consequences of inefficient waste management policy will also be discussed. The outcomes of this chapter will create awareness and knowledge surrounding the sustainable development goals and best practices for the implementation of waste management policies incorporating the importance of strong engagement with a broad range of stakeholders.
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Treacy, J. (2023). Policy Implementation on Waste Management and Achievement of Related SDGs. In: Leal Filho, W., Dinis, M.A.P., Moggi, S., Price, E., Hope, A. (eds) SDGs in the European Region . Implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals – Regional Perspectives. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91261-1_35-1
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