POLICY AND PRACTICE Mercury Waste Management in Sweden: Historical Perspectives and Recent Trends

ISSN： 1360-0559

Source： Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Vol.43, Iss.4, 2000-07, pp. : 561-572

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Abstract

This paper discusses the development of Swedish policy for mercury waste management. Starting with a description of the development of the policy for hazardous waste management in Sweden, the paper examines the process which led to the parliamentary decision that mercury waste should be gathered and safely disposed of. Special emphasis is placed on how the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency deals with questions of uncertainties and risks connected to deep disposal, and to what extent the government considers that people living close to the disposal should have the opportunity to influence the decision process. The paper concludes that this policy may be hard to implement. The proposed solution may create new problems which concern to what extent and in what way the local population will trust authorities when it comes to the assertion that deep disposal will not constitute any risk for themselves or their local environment.