Last modified: 2014-09-11
Abstract
However, little effort has been placed on understanding how actors apply
LCA, the arguments mobilised when justifying its application and the
controversies surrounding its application. The aim of this work is to
understand the legitimacy of LCA in the context of European waste
management regimes. LCA is used as a test of the environmental efficiency
of waste treatment options, and as a tool for private sector actors to gain a
greater market share. Criticisms of the use of LCA highlight the limitations
of LCA to act as a test of environmental efficiency and the friction which
arises when LCA is used to subjugate the civic nature of waste management
decisions.
Keywords
References
Boltanski, L., & Thévenot, L. (1999). The sociology of critical capacity. European Journal of Social Theory
2(3), 359-377.
Boltanski, L., & Thévenot, L. (2006). On justification: Economies of Worth. Princeton: Princeton University
Press.
Boons, F and Howard-Grenville, J. (2009). Introducing the social embeddedness of industrial ecology. In:
Boons, F and Howard-Grenville, J (Eds) The Social Embeddedness of Industrial Ecology. Cheltenham: Edward
Elgar.
Eunomia Research. (2004). Municipal Waste Management Strategies and the Land Use Planning System for
Waste in England. A report to DEFRA and ODPM.
European Commission. (2011). Supporting Environmentally Sound Decisions for Waste Management - A
technical guide to Life Cycle Thinking (LCT) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for waste experts and LCA
practitioners. Luxembourg: Joint Research Centre, European Commission.
Godard, O., & Laurans, Y. (2004). Evaluating environmental issue-Valuation as co-ordination in a pluralistic
world. Paris: Ecole Polytechnique, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique.
House of Commons. (2001). Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs - Fifth Report - Delivering
Sustainable Waste Management. London: HMSO.