Forschung

Managing for Sustainability: A Decision Support Model for Solid Waste Management

Dissertation project by:
Silvia Ulli-Beer

Supervisors:
Prof. Dr. M. Schwaninger, University of St. Gallen
Prof. Dr. R. Kaufmann-Hayoz, University of Berne

Period:
2000 - 2003

Abstract:
In the dissertation project both the "structures" in municipalities and the ecologically relevant behavior of the inhabitants and their interactions will be analyzed. The focus is on those structures which are preconditions for individual responsible environmental behavior, especially the restrictions and limitations of this behavior. The scope of this project is the development of strategies which are theoretically and empirically grounded, as well as instruments and measures which support a sustainable development. Therefore theories and knowledge from different disciplines must be taken into account. The overall concept will be applied on the area of solid waste management. Using a System Dynamics model the different strategies will be simulated and analyzed in order to support the political decision process. To investigate the municipality the method of group model building (Vennix 1996) has been chosen. Some group model building sessions were held to map the problematic causal chains in the municipality. Experts from various fields (local government, local administration, consulting firms serving the municipality in the areas of energy, transportation, water/sewage, waste, and consumption) shared their mental models about problems of environmental policy in order to explain the main impediments for change on part of citizens. The aim was to create among the experts a shared model of the causes and consequences of problematic behavior of the inhabitants. Based on the subjective models and different theories of human behavior, an overall concept for responsible environmental behavior was synthesized. This concept will be used to develop a System Dynamics model for solid waste management in order to create a tool for strategic decision making for the public administration and policy. The overall goal of the solid waste policy is to avoid the generation of solid waste. But today in the municipality the main task is the management of the increasing amount of solid waste and to collect it for different recycling processes. The underlying dynamic hypothesis of the problem is: If there is no change in the supply and disposal structures as well as in the consumption behavior of the inhabitants, the cost of the solid waste management will increase further and the willingness of the inhabitants for cooperation will decline (resistance against increasing taxes, burning of solid waste in the backyard, littering, wild waste site). Therefore the ecological and economical efficiency of the solid waste policy will decline.

Interfakultäre Koordinationsstelle für Allgemeine Ökologie (IKAÖ) der Universität Bern (1988-2013)