Out of the dump, into the fire. An analysis of governance challenges in transitioning to a sustainable waste management system in Greenland

Abstract: A transformation of the waste management system in Greenland has begun in 2020 to solve environ-mental, health and technical issues of landfilling and incineration. This thesis poses the question whether the new system is tackling the challenges of the current system. Progressing from sustaina-bility transition studies and governance theory, the thesis assesses governance challenges of the insti-tutional and socio-cultural dimensions. It analyzes to what extent the challenges are being tackled in the new system using semi-structured interviews. The thesis finds that overall, the challenges are not tackled, pointing at two intervention points to be further addressed: 1) the collaboration between citizens and municipalities and 2) the focus on the onsite waste workers. The thesis reflects on how Co-production can guide the two to support a transition to a sustainable waste management system. It concludes that Co-production Theory can contribute to guide the first challenge, whereas the second requires additional measures.