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Legislation and fiscal policies have remained the key drivers of construction waste minimization. It has often been suggested that reducing waste to the landfill does not only require improvement on existing waste management policies and fiscal framework; there is a need for adequate inputs from the construction professionals. As a means of engendering effective waste management policies, this study explores industry practitioners’ viewpoints on effective policies for minimising waste landfilled by the UK construction industry. Using exploratory sequential mixed method approach, qualitative and quantitative methods were used. In the first phase of the study, data was collected through focus group discussions with 24 experts from the UK construction industry. Findings from the qualitative study served as an input into a questionnaire, which was used to elicit a wider opinion from 63 experts at the quantitative stage of the study. The study suggests that for waste management legislation and policies to effectively drive construction waste minimization, six key measures are important. These include (i) provision of tax breaks and incentives to good waste performers and waste management businesses; (ii) increased targeting of design stages in policies; (iii) Extension of sustainable design appraisal systems by allocating more points to proven waste performance measures; (iv) increased stringency of legislative measures by requiring use of proven waste efficient design, procurement and construction methods; (v) increased stringency of fiscal policies by increasing penalties for poor waste performance; and (vi) corroboration of policy requirements with enablers and facilitators. The strategies through which each of the legislative and fiscal measures could be tailored and enhanced are discussed in the paper. By embracing both stringent and palliative policy measures suggested in the study, substantial construction waste could be diverted from landfill. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the creation of the National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom in 1948 there have been significant changes in the way waste materials produced by healthcare facilities have been managed due to a number of environmental, legal and social drivers. This paper reviews the key changes in legislation and healthcare waste management that have occurred in the UK between 1948 and the present time. It investigates reasons for the changes and how the problems associated with healthcare wastes have been addressed. The reaction of the public to offensive disposal practices taking place locally required political action by the UK government and subsequently by the European legislature. The relatively new UK industry of hazardous healthcare waste management has developed rapidly over the past 25 years in response to significant changes in healthcare practices. The growth in knowledge and appreciation of environmental issues has also been fundamental to the development of this industry. Legislation emanating from Europe is now responsible for driving change to UK healthcare waste management. This paper examines the drivers that have caused the healthcare waste management to move forward in the 60 years since the NHS was formed. It demonstrates that the situation has moved from a position where there was no overall strategy to the current situation where there is a strong regulatory framework but still no national strategy. The reasons for this situation are examined and based upon the experience gained; suggestions are made for the benefit of countries with systems for healthcare waste management still in the early stages of development or without any provisions at all. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been a heightened interest in the 'region' as a key site of economic activities. While regionalisation is often explained as part of the wider process of state scalar strategy in response to global economic restructuring, less attention has been paid to the role of the region in rescaling of environmental governance. This paper aims to fill the gap by drawing on the changing governance of municipal waste planning in the UK. Such a focus demonstrates that key elements of 'spatial Keynesianism' have been carried through, rather than superseded, in 'the new metropolitan reform'. Following a brief summary of the municipal waste problem and the influence of the EU regulatory measures in changing waste policy in the UK, the paper situates the regional institution building for waste planning in its historical and conceptual context. It then discusses the key rationales for regionalisation of waste in order to substantiate the central argument of the paper which is: the resilience of some of the key features of spatial Keynesianism in the new wave of metropolitan reforms. The final part of the paper unpicks the inherent tensions in state rescaling strategy and outlines the key factors that undermine the capacity of the state's reconfigured regional institutions to achieve their prescribed goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Waste legislation in the United Kingdom (UK) implements European Union (EU) Directives and Regulations. However, the term used to refer to hazardous waste generated in household or municipal situations, household hazardous waste (HHW), does not occur in UK, or EU, legislation. The EU''s Hazardous Waste Directive and European Waste Catalogue are the principal legislation influencing HHW, although the waste categories described are difficult to interpret. Other legislation also have impacts on HHW definition and disposal, some of which will alter current HHW disposal practices, leading to a variety of potential consequences. This paper discusses the issues affecting the management of HHW in the UK, including the apparent absence of a HHW-specific regulatory structure. Policy and regulatory measures that influence HHW management before disposal and after disposal are considered, with particular emphasis placed on disposal to landfill. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article reports on the publication of the new waste strategy plan of the British government in May 2007 in Great Britain. The strategy represents part of the execution of the Framework Directive on Waste (WFD) and waste management plan for aims of WFD. The strategy applies the well-established notion of waste hierarchy, with waste prevention as the preferred option. The strategy also highlights the economic benefit to be derived from waste reduction.

This paper examines the nature of the relationship between sustainable waste management behaviour between the 'home' and 'work' settings. A questionnaire survey of 566 employees of the Cornwall NHS (National Health Service) was used to examine the nature of the behaviour between the two settings and to understand the main factors influencing the behaviour. The results indicate that there is strong link in the behaviour of individuals between the two settings, with employees who practised recycling activities at home also being more likely to practise a similar behaviour at work. There was also some similarity in the level of sustainability of the behaviour between the two settings. These behaviours were strongly influenced by the underlying attitudes and beliefs of the staff towards the environment. The implications for policy-making to improve sustainable waste management behaviour amongst individuals in England and Wales are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the search for effective environmental policy instruments (EPIs), the interest in combining environmental policy instruments – such as taxes and charges, tradable permit schemes, voluntary agreements, information measures, and traditional command-and-control regulation – in synergistic policy mixes has intensified recently (OECD, 2001a). However, there is also a need to analyse the longer term pattern in the choice of instruments for a cumulative policy mix. The aim of this paper is to examine two aspects of this pattern – diversity and coerciveness – in the field of municipal waste management in Sweden and England. Based on an inventory of instruments adopted at the national level in 1995–2005, it is concluded that the diversity has increased in both countries, although the national instrument preferences differ. Two contrasting hypotheses on coerciveness in the sequencing of instruments are then tested; the ‘minimal-coercion’ hypothesis by Doern and Wilson (1974) and van der Doelen's (1998) ‘give-and-take’ strategy. It is found that Sweden has made relatively consistent choices of more coercive instruments, while a pattern of ‘give-and-take’ of positive and negative instruments can be discerned in the instrument mix in England. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the opportunities for and the benefits of considering gender in municipal waste management (MWM) policy. Two case studies in Ireland and the UK are presented. These show that the structural mechanisms for achieving a more consistent and coherent approach to ensuring that MWM policy is sensitive to gender differences and inequalities are still weak. They also show that political structures and champions for gender equality and equal opportunities make a difference to the way in which women are involved and considered in MWM policy making. The research is set within the broader context of environmental justice which, to date, has been more concerned with race, ethnicity and wealth inequalities than with gender inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Municipal waste management in the UK has undergone rapid transformation in recent years in pursuit of greater sustainability. In this paper we explore the environmental justice issues and tensions involved in this shift. After a brief overview of environmental justice debates and how they have been related to issues of waste management, we describe how the policies and processes underlying the transformation from an overwhelming dependence on landfill disposal towards more sustainable methods of management has been driven by European legislation embodying principles premised on fundamental environmental concerns of inter- and intra-generational equity. We analyse the key means through which these principles have been translated to restructure local authority practices and the environmental justice issues arising from the implementation of international policy in regional and local context. Finally, we reflect on the implications of this case study for implementation of policies intended to advance both sustainability and environmental justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the Waste and Emissions Trading Act 2003 of the Great Britain. This Act is made to make provision about waste and about penalties for non-compliance with schemes for the trading of emissions quotas. Part 1 of the Act is planned to give legal effect to the obligations imposed by Article 5(1) and (2) of Council Directive 1999/3 1/EC1 which was adopted on 26 April 1999 and entered into force on 16 July 1999. The Act also implements a commitment in the White Paper "Waste Strategy 2000: England and Wales" to introduce tradable allowances for local authorities to restrict the amount of biodegradable municipal waste sent to landfills. The main aim of Article 5(1) and (2) of the Landfill Directive is to reduce the amount of biodegradable waste that is sent to landfills. Member States are bound to establish a national strategy for the reduction of biodegradable waste going to landfills. Such a approach must ensure that targets for the reduction of the amount of biodegradable municipal waste going to landfills set out in Article 5(2) of the Directive are met.

Recent years have seen a rapid rise in the political saliency of the ever growing volumes of municipal waste produced in the UK. In this paper, we outline the preliminary findings of a research project that is examining the nature and development of municipal waste policy (MWP) in north-east England. We provide an overview of the changing national, regional and local policy framework for sustainable municipal waste policy, arguing that the European Landfill Directive has had a profound impact on policy priorities and goals at all levels. Nonetheless, commentators and policy makers alike have identified significant ‘barriers’ to progress, including institutional fragmentation, instability and uncertainty, financial constraints, and public participation. While the ‘barriers’ metaphor has served to identify some of the key challenges, we suggest that it offers only a partial view of the issues at hand and can serve to perpetuate an unhelpful division between the ‘technical’ and ‘social’, and between policy making and practice. In this paper, we develop a new conceptual framework for analysing MWP based on an understanding of the multiple modes of governing through which policy is constructed and contested. We argue that this approach is also relevant for other areas of environmental policy and planning which have, to date, only partially engaged with broader debates about the changing nature of the state and governance. Bringing these concerns into the analysis of environmental policy and planning is, we believe, a key challenge for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the use of economic instruments in the implementation of environmental policy based on a study conducted by the European Union Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive in Great Britain. Implementation of competition-based models; Disadvantages of competition-based models; Role of competition in the creation of environmental policy.

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Discusses the use and misuse of science in the justification of public policy, particularly environmental policy involving the use of the atmosphere for waste disposal in Great Britain in 1988. Case studies that illustrate appeals to science by policy makers when they justify a specific course of action or non-action; Effects on both science ad policy if scientific knowledge is misused or its limitations are misunderstood; Implications on public and environmental policy.

The article reports on a revised policy announced by the government of Great Britain for managing low level radioactive waste. The new policy provides an opportunity to promote the use of innovate methods for more effective waste management and aims to benefit the environment by re-using and recycling materials. According to environment and climate change minister Ian Pearson, the amount of low level waste would be greatly increased by Nuclear Decommissioning Authority's cleanup programmes.

In line with the UK Government's sustainability initiatives, finding new uses for discarded materials is an important issue which is attracting increasing attention. One such material is glass, which can have various applications once recycled. London Remade, the capital's recyclables market development agency, is currently investigating markets for recycled glass, including glass sand that can be used as replacement for quarried material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the law that governs the disposal of clinical waste and strategies for improving its management in Great Britain. The private health sector produces 100,000 to 200,000 tons of clinical waste annually. Clinical waste management and disposal is subject to duty of care under the Environment Protection Act of 1990. The effective segregation of clinical and household waste can help reduce the amount of clinical waste and the costs associated with its disposal.

The article discusses the changes in environmental legislation in Great Britain. The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive mandates the collection, treatment, recycling and recovery of such waste. The Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2005 applies to manufacturers of electrical and electronic equipment.

The article focuses on the significance of the new Duty of Care regulations which make sure that rubbish and garbage to authorized carriers in Great Britain. The new regulations will help reduce the thousands of tons of household waste that are illegally dumped each year. The Environment Agency started an initiative to join forces with local newspapers to fight potential fly-tippers advertising. The Clean Neighborhoods and Environment Act provides local authorities, parish and community councils and the Agency with more effective powers to tackle environmental problems. It is the responsibility of households to ensure rubbish is collected by authorized carriers.

Reports on the waste management measures in the United Kingdom as of June 1, 2003. Information on the Waste and Emissions Trading Bill; Overview of the European Landfill Directive.

The UK waste strategy is based upon the central concept of the hierarchy of preferable options for the treatment and disposal of waste. Minimisation is placed at the top of the hierarchy and the Government seeks to encourage its uptake by industry and commerce as well as householders. It has been accepted that previous waste management policyand practice have not delivered the hoped for movement up the hierarchy. Within the UK, landfill still predominates as the option most commonly used to deal with waste. Movement towards more sustainable waste management practice has been identified as a priority, in the UK, by the present Labour Government. To that end, they have recently produced a series of consultation papers on sustainable issues that set out their vision and confirm waste minimisation as a key strategy forthe future. In an attempt to stimulate the uptake of minimisation methodology by industry, waste minimisation clubs have been developed across the UK. There have been around 60 such clubs and they receive support and guidance from a range of organisations, including the Environment Agency and the ETBPP. These clubs have demonstrated that a significant reduction in waste arisings can occur when minimisation methodology is applied. Minimisation strategies often lead to improved resource efficiency and this is reflected in clear financial savings, e.g. the Leicester Waste Minimisation Initiative recorded mean savings, at the end of year one, of 0.26% of joint turnover. The median, however, better reflects the actual savings and it is apparent that even within a successful club there can be a wide range of performance by companies. Not all clubs have been successful and there has been little attention to the causes of failure in the UK. There are marked regional variations in club distribution and the proposed Regional Development Agencies, working with the Environment Agency, need to quickly establish strategies for minimisation uptake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]