Thesis Defense: Going forward: A look at small Icelandic municipalities and waste management strategies

In the coming weeks, UW master's students will defend their theses. The subjects are varied and the students are from both master's programs, Coastal Marine Management and Coastal Communities and Regional Development. The defenses are accessible to everyone through zoom links but they are also open to the public, at the University Centre of the Westfjords in Ísafjörður.

Student: Gaëlle Messmer

Date & time: Friday September 6th at 09:00

Thesis title: Going forward: A look at small Icelandic municipalities and waste management strategies

Program: Coastal Marine Management

Zoom link: https://eu01web.zoom.us/j/63109995907

Abstract: In January 2023, the Icelandic government enacted the Circular Law (hringrásarlögin) in
accordance with the European Union’s goal of achieving a circular economy. These laws aim to
divert waste away from landfilling, by prioritizing waste prevention, reuse, and recycling. In
Iceland, each municipality is responsible to implement a strategy to achieve these overarching
goals. However, smaller municipalities (under 10,000 inhabitants) are often faced with higher
costs of waste management than the larger hubs of the country, and other unique conditions such
as low population density, comparatively low quantities of waste, and greater distances to waste
treatment sites. To investigate the different challenges and opportunities that exist within the
different framework conditions of smaller municipalities to adapt to national waste management
policies, a mixed methods approach was used. A content analysis of policy documents using
MAXQDA was conducted to contextualize key informant interviews of waste management
professionals, which were also coded using MAXQDA. These interviews revealed that there
needs to be a mindset shift with regards to waste management in small Icelandic municipalities
towards circularity. The lack of knowledge of municipal policy makers on waste management,
stemming from insufficient training on the topic, has proven to be a major challenge to assessing
current waste management systems and finding local outlets to generate value from existing
waste streams. All interviewees agreed that organic waste presents as the biggest opportunity to
divert waste ending up in landfill and finding treatment options onsite such as composting
initiatives could reduce the costs of waste management. While the short channels of
communication and strong community ties present in these small municipalities should be taken
advantage of to encourage local buy-in into new systems. Therefore, including people in the
conversation and being transparent about waste should be of the utmost importance going
forward.

Defense schedule for this defense season: