Waste Location: spatial aspects of waste management, hazards and disposal

Abstract

The political and industrial significance of the new environmentalism of the 1980s arose from the recognition of growing public pressure for environmental quality and product reliability. Increasingly, attention has turned to waste as the product of consumption. As the political economy of waste was explored, new issues were raised: new technologies, recycling, pollution havens, waste minimization, location of landfill sites and incinerator facilities as well as environmental crime, responsibility and planning. The 1990s sees the advocates of "cradle to grave" responsibility still battling the promoters of market forces. "Waste Location" seeks to widen and integrate the debate on the intrinsically geographical nature of waste disposal. One of the major developments in the study of waste collection and disposal is the new forms of data collection and handling technology. The contributors consider both geotechnics and geographical information systems within this context. The focus on the geography of the UK is set within the broader framework of political economy and the international trade in pollution exports. Case studies are presented. This book should be of interest to students, local authorities and environmental agencies involved in planning, environmental science and geography.