ABSTRACT
There can be no doubt that the householder possesses the key to sustainable management of municipal waste. The introduction to this text examined a number of alternative approaches that have been used to both reduce waste and divert what waste is produced from landfill. These have had little effect. The evidence presented in Chapters Two to Eight and, in particular, Chapter Seven, provide clear support for the notion that waste minimisation, reuse and recycling rates vary substantially between individual households and for a variety of reasons. The contention in the preface to this book was that economic instruments for resolving environmental dilemmas are outdated. Public acceptance of new fiscal initiatives is low and the rate of environmental degradation is now exceeding the pace of the positive effects of artificial economic adjustments. These facts lead to the compelling conclusion that only changes in individual attitudes towards the environment and with that the consequent shifts in personal behaviour will have the lasting and profound impact on the environment that is so readily needed.
