Disaster waste governance: importance of pre-planning for improved response and recovery

Natural hazard-related disasters are rapidly increasing worldwide. Post-disaster waste management is important as debris impedes access of recovery crews, poses health hazards, increases length of residents’ stay in evacuation centres, and significantly adds to recovery costs. In Australia, waste management in business-as-usual times is the remit of local governments, yet during an emergency event the governance of disasters and disaster waste management is taken over by state level organizations. This shift creates tension between the roles and responsibilities of different actors, as well as uncertainty over access to infrastructure. Drawing on a mode of governing approach, we argue that implementing disaster governance in its current form is creating a fractured landscape of practice and policy that hinders progress towards sustainable debris management. A case study methodology was used to compare governance of municipal waste during business-as-usual times with governance of waste arising from disasters. Findings show that in disaster contexts, local governments are treated primarily as operational tools in the clean-up rather than as strategic partners. The siloed approach of organizations working on emergency management results in fragmented and unsustainable responses. Our results indicate that attempting to manage disaster waste without a pre-plan results in hurried and unsustainable solutions. The study contributes to the limited literature on disaster waste in Australia by providing empirical evidence of contested governance, demonstrating the need for context-specific disaster waste management plans, and extending the modes of governing framework to conditions where waste arises from severe disasters. • Post-disaster recovery can be improved by preparing disaster waste management plans. • The recognition of local governments as key partners in disaster waste governance is crucial to overcome current siloes. • Better governance of municipal waste will have a positive flow-on effect when dealing with unforeseen waste from severe natural hazard-related disasters.