Short-Term/Long-Term Solutions in Waste Management: Economics and the Transition Process

Abstract

Cleaner technology and recycling, as the preferred solution to waste management, is increasing in implementation but not at the rate expected given the successes and paybacks associated with those strategies. The reasons for the delay in implementation lie in the conflict between short-term and long-term solutions. The factors that contribute to hindrance or facilitation of the transition are found in: a) the distinction between the short-term and the long-term at a technical level; b) the distinction between the short-term and the long-term at a political level; c) the investment decision at the firm level; and d) related investments in infrastructure, organization, and institutions. This article identifies which constraints will disappear with time, which constraints are institutional and will require deliberate modification, and which constraints are permanent and must be considered part of the costs of the long-term solution. The goal is not to argue against short-term solutions, but for the need to acknowledge unavoidable costs associated with the transition from the short-term to the long-term solution.