Driving forces in national waste management strategies

Between the 1970’s and the 1990’s disposal technologies took on an air of self-sufficiency often forcing operators to take sides, in much the same way as occurs with sport fans. Those in favour of incineration were contrary to landfilling and recovery, whilst individuals supporting landfilling defamed the other methods, and so on. At times the echo of the irrational discussions which took place can still be heard today, with people continuing to reason in extreme terms, either in favour or contrary to a given system, without any reference to the specific context. Beyond metaphor, solid waste management today should meet numerous requirements stemming from an increased awareness and perception of environmental issues by the public and from scientific developments focusing on the increasing pressure worldwide of unavoidable ecological matters (limited resources, climate change, widespread pollution, demographic growth, depletion of non-renewable energy sources, etc.).