Publication details
Illegal Waste Transport and the Czech Republic: An Environmental Sociological Perspective
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2007 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Czech Sociological Review |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Field | Sociology, demography |
| Keywords | Czech Republic; environmental policy; environmental sociology; Treadmill of Production theory; waste management |
| Description | In late 2005 Czech authorities began to discover substantial amounts of municipal waste illegally transported from Germany to the Czech Republic. In addition to prompting practical policy questions, the situation challenges sociologists to theorise the causes, effects, and possible responses to the problem. The history of the Bohemian illegal waste problem is presented, and relevant waste management policies in the Czech Republic, Germany, and the European Union are described and analysed in light of Treadmill of Production (ToP) theory, which hypothesises that environmental degradation is caused primarily by political-economic forces, and that environmental protection can be achieved only through structural reform. Data from interviews and documentary analysis are used to describe the case study and test ToP theory. While it is evident that ToP theory is useful for analysing the illegal waste issue, some refinement of the theory may be necessary to better understand this case study. |