Technical Development of Waste Sector in Sweden: Survey

MASTER’S THESIS IN ENVIRONMENTAL STRATEGIES RESEARCH
4. LITERATURE REVIEW
4.1 Waste Management Development Drivers
In this section of the chapter, trends of waste generation are analyzed with different factors such as
population, GDP, consumption rate, rules and regulations, innovative technology and management
practices (recycle, reuse, and recover). From the literature review, a direct relationship between the
population growths, gross domestic product-GDP with waste generation has been found (Mazzanti,
M. & Zoboli, R., 2008). Population index and their consumption behavior affect very much on the
amount of waste volume.
Figure 4: Relationship of waste generation and GDP growth (EEA, 2008)
European Union Environmental Agency’s indicator fact sheet 2008 (EEA, 2008) mentions the
relationship between total generation of waste and GDP for the period between 1996 and 2002 in
Western Europe. Figure 4 highlights the relationship between GDP and waste generation. Capital
formation with the relation of GDP of Sweden is given in Appendix Figure A4. Comparison of
waste treatment volume over time, as shown in figure A1 of Appendix, with the GDP of Sweden,
gives similar findings that GDP and waste generation have a linear relationship. As the GDP of
Sweden is increasing over time and the consumption rate of the people is also increasing according
to the economical stability, higher volumes of waste are generated every year.
Different global, national or regional level actors have significant influence on technical development
in waste management sector. Wilson, D. (2007) has categorized the following waste management
development drivers for the waste sector:
1. Public health,
KUNGLIGA TEKNISKA HÖGSKOLAN
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