Municipal Waste Management in the Czech Republic since 1989: An Indicator of Ecological Modernization?

VAIL, Benjamin Jeremiah. Municipal Waste Management in the Czech Republic since 1989: An Indicator of Ecological Modernization? In 11th Annual International Conference on Environmental Economics, Policy, and International Environmental Relations. 2009.

Basic information

• Original name: Municipal Waste Management in the Czech Republic since 1989: An Indicator of Ecological Modernization?
• Authors: VAIL, Benjamin Jeremiah.
• Edition: 11th Annual International Conference on Environmental Economics, Policy, and International Environmental Relations, 2009.

Other information

• Original language: English
• Type of outcome: Presentations at conferences
• Field of Study: 50000 5. Social Sciences
• Country of publisher: Czech Republic
• Confidentiality degree: is not subject to a state or trade secret
• Organization unit: Faculty of Social Studies

Abstract

There is strong empirical evidence that, since 1989, Czech environmental quality has improved as a result of economic restructuring and new government policies to protect the environment and public health. This raises the question of how social scientists should understand the relation between the economic system and environmental quality. An environmental sociological approach called Ecological Modernization Theory (EMT) proposes a framework for interpreting this relationship. EMT suggests that rather than being in opposition to each other, as many environmentalists commonly assume, capitalism can complement efforts to improve environment quality. To begin the process of assessing the explanatory power of EMT theory, this paper analyzes changes in municipal waste management in the Czech lands since 1989. Several sources of information were used to provide data for quantitative indicators of economic performance, environmental quality, and waste management in the Czech Republic. During this time of economic growth within a political economy transitioning to capitalism, municipal waste generation showed trends that may be positive for the environment, thus supporting the conclusion that EMT is a relevant theory for interpreting society-nature interactions in the Czech context. However, these results are only preliminary and further empirical and theoretical work is needed to deepen the analysis.