Enhancing sustainability in waste management in small island states through the use of economic instruments

Abstract

In the past recent years, the increase in economic development has brought about an increase in rate of waste generation and thus pressure on the environment. The management of waste in small island states is deemed to be one of the greatest environmental concerns due to inherent characteristics such as small size, high population density and relative high quantities of diverse waste streams. This report gives an extensive theoretical background of the four pillars of study being considered: sustainable development, waste management, small island states and economic instruments. The waste management practices being used in the three countries under study were analysed and in tum their sustainability was gauged, using a number of Directives and Regulations within the EU waste Acquis as the minimum benchmark for achieving sustainability in waste management As predicted, the ranking obtained was that of Germany, followed by Cyprus and Malta with Germany being the most sustainable and Malta being the least sustainable in terms of waste management. Reasons as to why this ranking was obtained were discussed, surfacing issues such as 'residence time' within the EU and small size, with Malta being the smallest and therefore encountering more difficulties in achieving sustainability.