Learning from failure: Breaking the waste incineration NIMBY cycle through participatory governance

Not In My Back Yard (NIMBY) is prevalent in waste management projects with negative externalities, especially for waste landfill and incineration projects. Given the increasing household waste output and limited land resources for landfilling, waste incineration has been regarded as a more sustainable approach to waste disposal. The Chinese central government initiated a waste incineration policy in 2006, and local governments responded actively to this initiative by partnering with the private sector to develop incineration plants. However, when the incineration plant planning processes happened in-house with limited public engagement, this emergent industry encountered strong resistance and pushback. This research qualitatively analyzes two cases of incineration NIMBY. It illustrates how local governments adopted participatory governance to break the NIMBY cycle. Local governments use public engagement strategies, including interactive communication, information transparency, reinforced monitoring, and compensation programs, to restore public trust and improve social justice, which are critical in breaking the cycle. While NIMBY is usually depicted as destructive social unrest that slows down infrastructure development processes and increases costs, this research concludes that it can also serve as a catalyst urging the government to improve governance and guiding the booming incineration industry toward a more sustainable direction.