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Effective Waste Management: Understanding and Dealing With Public Concerns

Hazardous Waste Management Group, CES Loughborough University of Technology, Leicestershire LE11 3TU, U.K.

Effective waste management is dependent upon achieving informed consensus amongst interested parties. Public concerns and opposition present a challenge to this consensus which must be tackled. This paper reviews our understanding of the basis of public concerns about waste management activities and suggests some means for dealing with these. The paper identifies a need for better understanding of the complexity of concerns, which are based not only upon risk perceptions but also a lack of trust and credibility in waste managers, decision-makers, and the decision processes and control mechanisms for waste facility siting and operation. Suggestions for dealing with these concerns are discussed relating to risk communication, improving decision processes, the control and management of waste activities, and improvement in "expert" understanding of the risks.

Key Words: Public concerns • public perceptions • risk perceptions • risk communication • waste management.

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