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=Culture's Effect on Solid Waste Management=

Culture plays a large role in affecting the solid waste management practices a government adopts. In the nations of Japan and Iran, culture clearly has an effect on how the nations dictate their municipal solid waste (MSW) programs. In the country of Malaysia, influence from more advanced nations is affecting the policies implemented.

Japan
Many facets of Japan’s culture are contributing factors to how decisions are made regarding the nation’s solid wastes. For instance, Japan has one of the highest population densities in the world at 350 people per square kilometer. Compare this to the United States where the density is 32 people per square kilometer. Japan’s high population density makes it difficult to construct solid waste facilities without finding a strong reaction to the Not In My Back Yard mentality (NIMBY). Besides population density, the egalitarian social structure of Japan discourages the unequal distribution of waste facilities. Confusion philosophy, which is prevalent in the nation, emphasizes social responsibility and can be identified as a source of positive feelings toward sustainability by the public (Okuda & Thomson, 2007).

The Japanese governmental structure is another cultural item that contributes to how municipal solid waste management programs are carried out. Having a strong central government, Japan is able to redistribute tax revenues to rural areas thus preventing rural areas from becoming dumping grounds for cities (Okuda & Thomson, 2007).

Because Japan has so little space, it shies away from massive landfills and utilizes many small landfills and local incinerators. Although using a large quantity of local incinerators increases the local population’s risk to pollution exposure, it greatly lowers transportation effects. In fact, less than 1% of Japan’s municipal solid waste travels from one prefecture to another. A prefecture is similar to a state in the U.S.; 17% of America’s MSW travels interstate. And when one considers that Japan is about the size of California, the interpretation of prefecture to prefecture travel is more akin to county to county travel (Okuda & Thomson, 2007).

Upgrades to older incinerators, more stringent waste separation programs (e.g. recycling), among other processes have caused the cost of MSW management to reach the highest cost in the world. In Japan, the cost is $150 per capita per year or about $5 per kitchen garbage bag for MSW management. The rising costs are pushing local authorities that currently hold responsibility for MSW to form regional programs to share resources (Okuda & Thomson, 2007).

Iran
The examples above illustrate how Japanese culture influences MSW management policy decisions in Japan. Next, the residents of Tehran, Iran were evaluated on their participation in various MSW programs. Culture, again, has a significant effect.

A majority of the residents of are Muslim, and in the Iranian Muslim tradition bread is considered sacred and not commingled with other waste. In survey results 74.1% of respondents stated they “always” separated stale/crusted bread from the total generated waste. This percentage does not include “often,” “sometimes,” or seldom” responses. When compared to “always” values for paper, plastics, metals, and glass separtation (16-20%), the percentage of “always” bread separators is quite high. This clearly illustrates how a piece of culture (i.e. religious tradition) can cause a strong effect on MSW practices (Nasrabadi //et al//., 2008).

Malaysia
Influences from foreign cultures also can play a role in how a government decides its MSW management policies. In the Southeast Asian county of Malaysia, such is the case.

Municipal solid waste has increased 91% in the last decade due to rapid development, urban migration, increased wealth, and changes in consumption patterns. Coupled with moderate awareness of solid waste issues, the Malaysian government has been slow to react. After 10 years of debate, the Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Bill of 2007 was passed. Following the footsteps of foreign nations, the bill transfers responsibility from local and state levels to the federal government and establishes a corporation to manage the new system. The policies set forth are similar to successful policies of Japan and Singapore although critics note that it lacks waste separation incentives and “pay as you throw” approaches (Periathamby //et al//., 2009).

Culture and the influence of other nations affect the solid waste management practices a government adopts. In Japan and Iran, culture is a clear factor in the nations’ decision making. In Malaysia, the federal government is modeling its policies on other nations’ successful programs.

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