Long-Term Planning for Solid Waste Management

Abstract

The continuing provision of an efficient, reliable and cost-effective service for solid waste management requires the preparation of a sound long-range plan. It is suggested here that such a plan is one which has been chosen by local politicians from a short list of alternative plans, each of which has been evaluated in depth. An examination of the few plans currently available in the U.K. suggests that this ideal is far from being achieved. This article critically examines each of the steps involved in producing a sound plan. Some of the political issues which underpin the planning process are addressed, while existing computer models to assist the evaluation of plans are examined and found wanting. A new approach is introduced, in which the waste manager himself (or herself) uses the computer "interactively", interjecting his skill and judgement as required, with the aim of shortlisting for further study several interestingly different plans, each having a similar cost.