Waste Management: Optimal Disposal Fee and Intergenerational Use of the Landfill

The amount of solid waste increases with economic growth, which results in decreasing the remaining capacity of landfills. Because landfill space is not unlimited and the construction of new sites is often difficult due to the “not in my backyard” (NIMBY) syndrome and various constraints, an overabundance of waste produced by the current generation causes a shortage of landfills for future generations. In this chapter, we consider the optimal intergenerational use of landfills and optimal disposal fee policy that maximizes the sum of the social surpluses of those generations.