The potential of public engagement in sustainable waste management: Designing the future for biosolids in New Zealand Joanna Goven a , E.R.(Lisa) Langer b, * a School of Political Science and Communication, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch, New Zealand b Scion,P.O.Box 29 237, Christchurch, New Zealand a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 28 July 2006 Received in revised form 1 February 2008 Accepted 24 February 2008 Available online 16 May 2008 Keywords: Public participation Community dialogue Biosolids Scenario workshops Sustainability a b s t r a c t Strategies for beneficial use of biosolids in New Zealand and elsewhere are currently focused primarily on land application. The long-term success of these and other strategies is dependent not only on technical factors, but also on their environmental, economic, social and cultural sustainability. This paper briefly re views the situation with respect to biosolids management in New Zealand, where land application is not yet widespread; the rise in public opposition to land application in the United States; and the biosolids in- dustry’s approach to public engagement. We argue that, at least until recently, the industry has misinter preted the nature and meaning ofpublic opposition and thus substituted public relations for public engagement. We argue that genuine public engagement is necessary and that its purpose cannot be to gain public acceptance for an already-decided-upon strategy. It therefore calls for humility among bio- solids managers, including a willingness to open up the framing of ‘the problem’, to acknowledge areas of uncertainty, and to recognise the role of values in ‘technical’ decision-making. We then present and an alyse an example of the use of the scenario workshop process for public participation in biosolids manag ment policy in Christchurch, New Zealand,and conclude that scenario workshops and related methods represent an opportunity to enhance sustainable waste management when certain conditions are met. Ó 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction New Zealand’s Ministry for the Environment (MfE) set the fol- lowing target in its Waste Strategy:‘‘By December 2007, more than 95 percent of sewage sludge currently disposed of to landfill will be composted,beneficially used or appropriately treated to minimise the production of methane and leachates’’ (MfE, 2002). This target has not been achieved. About 1.5–2 million wet metric tonnes of treated sewage sludge (biosolids) with varying moisture contents is produced each year in New Zealand. Currently, approx- imately 90% of that is landfilled, used to cap a landfill or used to re- fill a quarry.Landfill gases, especially methane, are extracted and used for energy generation at a number of landfills throughout New Zealand. This extraction reduces the environmental footprint of the landfills and creates tradable emission units or carbon credits.However,it is difficult to capture a high proportion of the methane produced,and to date methane extraction generally does not commence until waste disposal in the landfill is complete. A further target of the Waste Strategy is that ‘‘[b]y December 2020, all substandard wastewatertreatment facilities will be upgraded,closed or replaced with systems that comply with all relevant regional and coastal plans, standards and guidelines’’. To- gether with the growth in population, such improvements in water treatment facilities will increase the amount of biosolids produced. The urgency of the problem (biosolids are produced seemingly inexorably, every day) combined with the negative effects of land- filling 1 provides significant impetus to develop alternatives. Strategies for ‘beneficial use’ have thus far tended to focus upon land application of biosolids, as biosolids are known to add nutri- ents and condition soil.Since the late 1990s biosolids have been applied to a pine plantation on an island near the South Island city of Nelson. Some local authorities have begun exploring alterna- tive opportunities. Two North Island cities (Wellington and Rotorua) are composting up to about 55% of their biosolids and selling it commercially to home gardeners and landscapers. Vermi- composting using worms is being investigated in Rotorua. In an- other North Island city (New Plymouth), biosolids are dried and sold as a registered organic fertiliser for turf grass (e.g., on golf * Corresponding author. Tel.: þ64 3 364 2949; fax: þ64 3 364 2812. E-mailaddresses: joanna.goven@canterbury.ac.nz (J. Goven), lisa.langer@scion- research.com (E.R. (Lisa) Langer). 1 For example, potential contamination of groundwater with pathogenic micro-- organisms and persistent organic pollutant compounds, generation of greenhouse gases in the form of methane, transport costs (and greenhouse gas emissions) of trucking biosolids,and the impact of odour and other disamenities on nearby residents. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Environmental Management j o u r n a l homepage: w w w . e l s e v i e r . c o m / l o c a t e / j e n v m a n Journal of Environmental Management 90 (2009) 921–930 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Environmental Management j o u r n a l homepage: w w w . e l s e v i e r . c o m / l o c a t e / j e n v m a n 0301-4797/$ – see front matter Ó 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2008.02.006 Journal of Environmental Management 90 (2009) 921–930