Stakeholder coordination analysis in hazardous waste management: a case study in China

Hazardous waste management (HWM) in chemical industrial parks is an important issue related to sustainable development. Previous researches concentrations on HWM have been transferred from technologies, economic, and ecological benefits to social relations because the coordination and cooperation among different stakeholders determine the efficiency of HWM. To analyze stakeholder coordination in HWM, this paper employed a mixed-method combined with stakeholder analysis(SA) and social network analysis(SNA), for analyzing interests, powers, attitudes, knowledge of different stakeholders, and the characteristics, power quantification of the stakeholders' coordination network, by chosen Shanghai Hangzhou bay economic and technical development park(SHDP) as a case study area. In hazardous waste management, governmental supervision has enough interest but less power and with the complete knowledge on, third-party supervision has a medium interest but less knowledge to support their supervision, firms have the lowest power but interest, waste treatment and disposal company have most power and interest but limited knowledge. NGOs, research institutes and media have interest and knowledge but less power. Most stakeholders have positive attitude. We also find that local supervisions play an important role in stakeholder coordination, and NGOs and research institutes have the most potential to push stakeholder coordination by improving information exchange. Therefore, policy recommendations are proposed, including the establishment of communication mechanisms, the adoption of hazardous treatment regulations and economic instruments, the application of a platform for information exchange, and the encouragement of stakeholders' engagement and public participation.