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The fate of waste in H awaii: Technology assessment and solid waste planning in H awaii, 1968–78
Author(s) -
Howell Jordan P.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
singapore journal of tropical geography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.538
H-Index - 42
eISSN - 1467-9493
pISSN - 0129-7619
DOI - 10.1111/sjtg.12089
Subject(s) - agency (philosophy) , government (linguistics) , municipal solid waste , solid waste management , business , environmental planning , process (computing) , state (computer science) , waste management , environmental resource management , natural resource economics , engineering , environmental science , economics , sociology , computer science , linguistics , philosophy , algorithm , operating system , social science
In this article I consider the initial period of solid waste management planning in the US state of H awaii. The State encountered a number of economic and ecological controversies during its solid waste management planning, a process that was prompted by the US Environmental Protection Agency. Some issues, like project financing, were common across the US , while others, such as the potential of waste materials to reduce reliance on imported food and materials, were more unique to H awaii. The controversies from this initial planning period were never quite fully resolved; as they lingered, they were interpreted differently across the Islands. Based on a close reading of government, advocacy group, waste industry and news media documents, I examine the controversies over solid waste management of the time and consider how the ‘dual nature’ of waste in H awaii—simultaneously an ecological threat and (potential) economic input—shaped the adoption of solid waste management systems there. This article adds to an expanding literature examining infrastructure in environmental and technology histories.