Defining IEHIAS stakeholders: example from waste
- The text on this page is taken from an equivalent page of the IEHIAS-project.
As part of the EU-funded INTARESE project, which contributed to the development of this Toolbox, a case study was carried out to assess health impacts of different waste management strategies.
A large number of stakeholders have interests in waste management. Many of these arise even before waste formation: for example, industry, packing, delivery of goods, and citizens are all involved in the waste formation as well as in the 'waste minimisation' process. On the other hand, there are also a range of stakeholders at the end of the process where 'waste' represents important economical resources of material (glass, paper, etc) and energy. Since environmental control is also crucial at the end of the process, public institutions play an important role. Conflicting interests exist among the various stakeholders: e.g. national policy versus local policy, industrial interests versus environmental interests, environmental sustainability and employment, waste minimization and energy production. These conflicting interests, together with citizens’ concerns about health effects, make choices of waste management a very controversial area.
The full list of stakeholders includes:
- European, national and regional policymakers and authorities (Ministries of Environment, Ministries of Health)
- Institutions for environmental control and public health
- Transportation industry
- Waste management companies and industry
- Consumers, NGOs and lobby groups (e.g. for composting and recycling)
- Citizens associations
- Media
- Researchers
In the Lazio (Italy) case study, discussions were held with the Regional Authority responsible for the regional Waste Strategy, especially regarding the sites of the new plants and the waste flows. Meetings were held with the main waste company for the Rome municipality mainly responsible for waste collection and transportation. Environmental data and dispersion models were discussed with the Regional Environmental Protection Agency. There were several discussions with city councils and community groups regarding the proposal of new incinerators and with expert journalists in the field. All these discussions were conducted in an informal way.
