Metabolisms of injustice: municipal solid-waste management and environmental equity in Barcelona's Metropolitan Region

• Published in: Local environment Vol. 19; no. 7; pp. 731 - 747
• Main Authors: Fragkou, Maria Christina, Salinas Roca, Luis, Espluga, Josep, Gabarrell, Xavier
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Routledge 09-08-2014; Taylor & Francis; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Applied ecology; Barcelona Metropolitan Region; Biological and medical sciences; Coastal; Conservation, protection and management of environment and wildlife; Ecological risk assessment; Environment; Environment and sustainable development; Environmental health; Environmental justice; Equality; Export-import trade; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects; Indicators; Inequality; International trade; Local government; Management; Metabolism; Methodology; Minorities; Municipal solid waste; municipal solid-waste management; Municipalities; Risk; Social groups; social metabolism; Socioeconomic status; Spain; Sustainability; Sustainable development; urban sustainability; Waste management; Southern Europe; Europe; Spain; Barcelona Spain; Sustainable cities; Catalonia; urban sustainability; Environmental policy; Urban waste; municipal solid-waste management; Metabolism; Sustainable development; Environmental law; Solid waste; Environment; Mediterranean region; Barcelona Metropolitan Region; social metabolism; environmental justice
• ISSN: 1354-9839; 1469-6711
• DOI: 10.1080/13549839.2013.792045

Environmental justice studies that focus on the management of municipal solid waste (MSW) typically examine the unequal distribution of associated health and environmental risks in minority social groups and the political processes that generate these inequalities. With the aim to complement current views on the field, in this work, we explore whether there is an issue of environmental justice in municipal systems' grade of self-sufficiency in treating the MSW that they generate and in their effort to close their material cycles. The methodology used is based on the concept of urban metabolism and is applied to 12 coastal municipalities of Barcelona's Metropolitan Region in Spain. The metabolism of the MSW flows of each system is analysed to examine (i) the system's efficiency to close its MSW cycles, corresponding to an indicator of environmental sustainability, and (ii) the MSW export and import flows, as an indicator of social sustainability. The results demonstrate a positive correlation between socioeconomic status and the externalisation of MSW treatment-related hazards. The proposed indicator proves to be an excellent tool for the evaluation of both the environmental and social performance of a system considering MSW management.