Burning Risk: The Energy-from-Waste Controversy in Metro Vancouver

Abstract

The majority of Canadian waste is landfilled: incineration, or in many cases Energy-from-Waste (EfW), accounts for less than 5% of total Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) management. This is relatively low compared to the proportion of waste incinerated in certain Europe countries, specifically Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands. Different conceptualizations of risk can overlap to produce discourses on risk that change significantly with local variables, particularly the way that stakeholders are positioned economically, politically, geographically, culturally and so on. Using the EfW controversy in Metro Vancouver as a case study, this paper investigates how risk can act as force, which propels EfW technologies into becoming a ‘matter of concern’. Furthermore, this paper examines how stakeholder ‘attachments’ largely affect risk framing and thus control and manage the EfW controversy.