Social and cultural factors

Even if waste is not the most social topic, there are still a few administrative things to be aware of when it comes to waste management. How already mentioned, in the environmental section, the reduction of waste is the most effective way to prevent environmentally unfriendly effects. To reduce the amount of generated waste, it makes the most sense to communicate with the citizens and the organizations located in the city. 

Waste that has not been generated in the first place, does not have the need to be treated with other measures and safes money for the city as well as for individuals or businesses. To achieve the reduction of waste there are different possibilities. First of all, it makes sense to convince local businesses to reduce the usage of materials, like for packaging. Not only are there less costs for the businesses in terms of disposal but also the reduction of waste has a positive side effect for all stakeholders. 

On the other hand, the citizens have to be aware of the impact that waste has in monetary and environmental terms. If the society is aware of the impact, it is more likely that less waste is produced and the waste separation is executed more seriously. Here the city administration has to operate educational work for the importance of an aware waste treatment. The city should as well appeal to the citizens to change their consumption behavior to a less waste generating way. 

For the people and organizations that do not care, it makes sense to install incentives to reduce the generated waste. An example therefore could be the introduction of a volume/weight-dependent disposal fee that financially rewards the people that generate less waste.Another positive social side effect of the introduction of a circular waste management is the creation of jobs. The treatment of waste like the separation, the recycling, and the reusing, requires workforce which leads to the demand for workers (European Commission (2015)).

Skip to content