Abstract

This entry will review the nature of municipal solid waste and some of the management and governance practices surrounding the same. In particular, it will look at the definition of waste and the general nature of municipal solid waste, including the variations seen in this nature through time and across space. Managerial practices emerging from the intrinsic nature of waste are then presented followed by a review of the broad-ranging normative principles mobilized in dealing with the same. Finally, the wider governance contexts that influence the choice of particular normative principles are presented.