Enhanced Landfill Mining as a governance challenge: managing multiple actors, interests and perspectives

Abstract

This paper analyzes the implications of Enhanced Landfill Mining (ELFM) for the actors involved in waste management. We look for the collaborative qualities of the relationships among these actors that allow the exchange of knowledge and criteria to put in practice this new concept. We make use of our experience as action researchers in the case of the ELFM Consortium related to the Closing the Circle project of Group Machiels. We consider this case also as an interesting illustration of the current challenges for governance not only in relation to waste management, but to many other complex problems where the sustainable management of resources is at stake. We argue that for this kind of “messy” sustainability problems, new governing mechanisms are needed based on distributed initiatives and responsibilities between governmental, business and civil society partners. We have found that informal contacts, authentic conversations and shared activities among persons belonging to these different sectors contribute to develop a transformational group, which is identified with the long term and general interest values of sustainability.status: publishe