Need and Nuisance in the Location of Waste Disposal Facilities: The Difficulty of Achieving Unity in Consensus Building by Competition

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  • 廃棄物処理施設の立地をめぐる「必要」と「迷惑」――「公募型」合意形成にみる連帯の隘路――
  • ハイキブツ ショリ シセツ ノ リッチ オ メグル 「 ヒツヨウ 」 ト 「 メイワク 」 : 「 コウボガタ 」 ゴウイ ケイセイ ニ ミル レンタイ ノ アイロ

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Abstract

<p>It seems plausible that if a place can be arranged where various stakeholders with different points of view can come together and hold a constructive discussion, it might be possible to resolve a conflict concerned with risk taking. Indeed, procedures that guarantee rational conversations have been refined within democratic social systems as demonstrated by the progress made in environmental disputes in many areas.</p><p>The procedure examined in this paper was adopted by a local Japanese government in order to determine the location of a waste disposal facility. The local government invited public applications for suitable locations and a project leader for each interested region collated the residents’ opinions to help decide whether or not they should apply. Based on the applications it received, the local government organized discussions to narrow down the selection of the location. The procedure was a combination of competition, that respected the regional community’s initiative, and an open democratic discussion that helped exclude the attitude of “not in my backyard” (NIMBY) and enabled practical decision-making. However, it should be noted that the anxieties of local people tended to be ignored in the effort to win the bid and may not have been properly represented in the open discussion. If the voice of the people opposing the facility was suppressed through the process, the procedure can hardly be considered a practical method of solving the conflict.</p><p>The procedure of inviting public applications has the merit of local people being able to take the initiative for planning the revitalization of their own area. However, they might also be drawn into the trap of overlooking the considerable “nuisance” of hosting a waste disposal facility for the sake of financial benefits and the revitalization of their region. This works to erode the burden of accountability that local governments would otherwise shoulder. If this happens, the cooperative relationship between each individual region and society as a whole will deteriorate.</p>

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