A REVIEW OF, AND RESEARCH SUGGESTIONS FOR, SOLID-WASTE MANAGEMENT ISSUES - THE PREDICTED ROLE OF INCENTIVES IN PROMOTING CONSERVATION BEHAVIOR

Several lines of evidence suggest that humans may be sensitive to the scale at which environmental problems occur, and that humans perceive to be more urgent those environmental problems that happen over relatively short-time duration and at relatively local-spatial scales, compared with those that happen over greater spans of time and space. If this is true, then solutions to environmental problems should be planned accordingly: i.e. incentive-based strategies to promote some type of conservation may be more easily implemented, and most appropriately socially-based, for environmental problems that occur at the smaller societal scales. For these that occur at the larger societal scales, incentive-based strategies may be most appropriately economically-based, and are likely to be more difficult to implement, than the socially-based ones at the smaller societal scales. This theory is explored in the context of municipal solid wastes. There is some support for the general arguments in that various types of economic incentives have been effective in reducing household wastes across the scale of cities, and some more socially-based incentives appear to be effective in small town/neighbourhood settings, though much work on these issues remains to be done. Several potentially fruitful lines of research are suggested, including motivational studies that focus on a broader array of socio-economic strata than has thus far been attempted. in addition, more long-term research, and research that explicitly looks at male versus female attitudes and opinions, is also suggested. Evidence from a number of sources suggests that people's perceptions of garbage are frequently inaccurate, and full 'life-cycle' assessments of materials and devices are needed to judge various technical alternatives for disposal.