NIMBY and the hazardous and toxic waste siting dilemma: The need for concept clarification

Finding ways to appropriately dispose of the various wastes that we generate has become one of our most urgent and difficult public policy problems. Researchers and policymakers alike have increasingly attributed much of the blame for policy siting failures to local not-in-my-backyard (NIMBY) responses. However, this concept, as currently used in the literature, has limited utility because of the absence of conceptual and operational clarity. We discuss major problems with the concept, including indiscriminate use, incentives problems, equity issues, and the assumed irrational base of NIMBYism. important research issues are identified that must be addressed if the concept is to retain scientific and policymaking utility.