Recycling and the Politics of Urban Waste

The affluence of western society has given rise to unprecedented quantities of waste, presenting one of the most intractable environmental problems for contemporary society. This book examines recycling and municipal waste management in three major cities: London, New York and Hamburg. A range of political and economic issues are examined to illustrate how any reduction in the size of the waste stream in order to achieve more equitable and environmentally sustainable patterns of resource use is incompatible with the current emphasis in the use of the market for environmental protection. The case studies show how, contrary to the hopes of many environmentalists and policy makers, municipal waste management is moving steadily towards the profitable option of incineration with energy recovery, rather than the recycling of materials or waste reduction at source. The evidence suggests that the achievement of a more sustainable pattern of recycling and waste management policy would demand a fundamental change in public policy, to give government a more active role in environmental protection. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents List of illustrations Glossary Acknowledgements Introduction 1 The management of municipal waste The collection of municipal waste Waste disposal by landfill Waste disposal by incineration The demunicipalization of waste management 2 Recycling in perspective The diverse rationale for recycling The hierarchy of recycling options The recycling of post-consumer waste The control of packaging waste Public participation and recycling The secondary materials market The economic viability of recycling Recycling and 'market failure' 3 London The historical development of waste management for London Radical waste management under the GLC in the 1980s The abolition of the GLC Public Health Engineering Department The post-war collapse of paper recycling The rise of the 'bring' system for the recycling of glass The underlying barriers to recycling in London Market-based recycling policy The demunicipalization of waste management in London The future of landfill The re-emergence of incineration Conclusion 4 New York The historical development of waste management for New York The impact of the New York State bottle bill Local Law 19 and kerbside recycling Conflict and uncertainty over the future Conclusion 5 Hamburg The historical development of waste management for Hamburg The contemporary pattern of municipal waste management The recycling of putrescible kitchen and garden waste The politics of waste management in Hamburg The 1991 packaging ordinance Conclusion 6 Conclusion The limits to comprehensive post-consumer recycling The need for waste reduction The market-led incineration path Conclusion Notes and references Further reading Index Matthew Gandy. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [140]-143) And Index.