| Title |
Institutions and Partisan Politics Make the Difference: a Comparison of Municipal Waste Prevention Policies in Independent Cities in North Rhine-Westphalia |
| ID_Doc |
7005 |
| Authors |
Weigel, A; Kurrek, D; Töller, AE; Garske, B; Senge, N; Bungurovic, S; Götz, V; Schrader, SM |
| Title |
Institutions and Partisan Politics Make the Difference: a Comparison of Municipal Waste Prevention Policies in Independent Cities in North Rhine-Westphalia |
| Year |
2024 |
| Published |
|
| DOI |
10.1007/s11615-024-00543-0 |
| Abstract |
Extracting, processing, and utilizing scarce natural resources are associated with negative environmental impacts. Reducing these impacts requires a consistent circular economy and the prevention of waste production. Whereas waste prevention has long been a legal priority, in practice the focus has mainly been on the separate collection and recycling of waste, and only recently has more interest in waste prevention been observed. Relevant to the implementation of a consistent waste prevention policy are, above all, the municipalities, which are responsible for the disposal of household waste and at the same time have leeway with regard to waste prevention. However, waste prevention policies between cities differ in terms of the level of ambition. With the help of fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis and theories of comparative policy research, this paper examines how the variance found in 22 independent cities in North Rhine-Westphalia can be explained. Our results show that for a nonambitious waste prevention policy, a privatized performance of tasks and a combination of a low share of seats for the Green Party and high capacities in waste incineration plants are sufficient. However, the share of Greens in the council as well as capacities in waste incineration plants and the organizational structure of municipal waste management as institutional factors also play roles in explaining ambitious waste prevention policies. This paper contributes to the debates on the role of partisan politics in environmental policy and at the municipal level as well as on the effects of privatization. Against the background of a great need for modernization of waste incineration plants, our results are also relevant for the current debate on the future of our circular economy. |
| Author Keywords |
Municipal policy; Environmental policy; Waste prevention; Fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA); Policy research |
| Index Keywords |
Index Keywords |
| Document Type |
Other |
| Open Access |
Open Access |
| Source |
Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) |
| EID |
WOS:001207651200001 |
| WoS Category |
Political Science |
| Research Area |
Government & Law |
| PDF |
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