How Is Waste Management Affected By Socioeconomic Factors? Essay

How Is Waste Management Affected By Socioeconomic Factors? Summary. One of the most pressing environmental issues facing the world today is the issue of waste management and disposal. This problem crosses all international borders and touches the lives of all of the world’s peoples. Waste management encompasses everything from collection and handling to disposal by incineration, landfill and other methods, and recycling. Also included are the serious associated implications for the health of people and the environment. As waste producing activities proceed and intensify, the world community will be faced with hard choices on how to best manage and dispose of wastes. These decisions should be based on hard science and sound management practices. However, there are geopolitical dimensions to be found in the decision-making process of waste management and disposal. The purpose of this study has been to determine how geopolitical factors affect waste management on global and local scales. Specifically, this investigation has been guided b y looking at how social and economic factors affect global and national waste management practices. By looking at the various aspects of waste management, this investigation has determined that decision-making is greatly affected by socioeconomic factors. Waste disposal practices are shown to be directly associated with the extent to which a nation or region is industrialized, or developed. This study presents evidence, both statistical and anecdotal, that waste disposal, incineration, landfill site selection, and many of the other areas of waste management are indeed associated with ethnic, racial, regional and national considerations. This study concludes that internatio... ...t. Lee, G., A. Jones-Lee (1998). â€Å"Addressing Justifiable NIMBY: A Prescription For MSW Management.† Landfills and Water Quality Management. W2. â€Å"Japan Blamed For Coercing Thai Incinerator Purchases.† http://ens.lycos.com/ens.html. W3. â€Å"Medical Waste Incineration Banned In Argentinean Capital.† http://greenpeace.org/international_en/news/details W4. â€Å"Highest Dutch Court Calls Ship ‘Toxic Waste,’† (2002). http://greenpeace.org/international_en/news/details W5. â€Å"Greenpeace Intercepts European Ship Attempting to Illegally Dump Toxic Waste In Turkey,† (2002). http://greenpeace.org/international_en/news/details Mitchell, D. (1998). â€Å"Lives of the Saints: The Loneliest Shipper.† New York Magazine. Suro, R. (1998). â€Å"Pollution-Weary Minorities Try Civil Rights Tack.† The New York Times. Brown, P. (2000). â€Å"What A Waste!† The Guardian.