Societal response to wastes in the 20. century

The generation and management of wastes has become one of the most pressing problems facing modern society. Though often depicted as a problem of a technical and environmental management nature, many aspects of the issue can be framed is sociological terms. This paper attempts to track the path of social perceptions of, and response to, wastes in western democracies from the turn of the century until the present day, and concludes by offering some ideas as to how perceptions and the consequent demands for information and involvement in decision-making on waste management may develop as we move into the 21. century. The focus of the paper is non-radioactive wastes, however, there is considerable overlap and commonalty with social responses to nuclear wastes. (authors)