Horse-power: Urban domestic recycling and the development of sustainable local community structures

Sustainability as a concept comprises the combination of economic, environmental and social elements, never more importantly than when looking at the achievement of local sustainability. Local business enterprise is an important factor here - the implementation of the principles of sustainability will benefit enormously from the involvement of local businesses and their owners and employees. However, what is not clear is how this can happen in practice - what ought to be is not yet translatable into what is. The following paper discusses work in progress relating to a recycling scheme that is proposed to be set up in an urban area. There are a number of issues to be addressed in the project: the organization undertaking the recycling activity is considering the ways in which it can develop sustainable practices whilst at the same time examining the ways in which recycling can be encouraged as a community action. Copyright (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.