Introduction

The state and the market are two distinct sectors: whereas the state (or public sector) looks out for the common good, the market's (or private sector’s) main objective is to realise a profit. Both sectors have their own set of rules, norms and values, and thus very distinct cultures. Waste management operates in the border area of these two sectors. This holds true for both the supply and the demand side: we see both public and private customers (in many countries, collecting and disposing of household waste is a statutory task of [local] governments, while for businesses, disposing of waste is often their own responsibility) and both public and private providers. This creates a mixed market in which both state-owned and commercial organisations operate, each with their own private business interests.

But also within these organisations themselves, this mixing takes place: public (that is, state-owned) waste management services are now often run as if they were commercial companies, and also engage in the collection and disposal of business waste, a market segment which, until very recently, was the domain of their private rivals. And these commercial, often multinational and stock exchange listed, enterprises have become active in the market for the collection and disposal of household waste. As a result, waste management has become a mix of public and private, and hence a hybrid activity undertaken by hybrid organisations.

This chapter examines this hybridity in waste management. It discusses what it means, how it manifests itself and what opportunities and dilemmas it raises. It does this by taking the Dutch waste management sector as an example, which over the last two decades has developed into a highly dynamic and hybrid marketplace in which many hybrid waste management organisations operate. As such it can serve as an ideal illustration of the changes the waste management sectors of many other countries have undergone. The chapter first refines the definition of hybridity by identifying the public and private interests that come together in hybrid organisations in the waste management sector. It illustrates this by looking at the example of the Netherlands, and not only describes what types of hybrid organisations can be found there, but also which issues arise due to their hybrid status in relationship with their political overlords, competitors and employees and citizens.