Blue Bags or Refuse Tourism: Social Acceptance of Closed Policymaking

Abstract

The solution of environmental problems requires both technical and behavioral adjustments. It is therefore important to discover how a government can promote environmentally friendly behavior. The changing of environmentally relevant behavior often requires collective measures. However, there needs to be a social basis for restrictive measures or else they become too difficult to enforce. The acceptance of restrictive measures is therefore a condition for their effective implementation. This article surveys various possible ways of increasing social acceptance of environmental policy, partly on the basis of an investigation into the practical application of environmental policy in a Dutch municipality. It was found that a closed policymaking process (first deciding upon new measures, then communicating about them) was not very effective in promoting social acceptance. Communication is also required at the stage of policymaking, to encourage discussion of the content of policies (an open policymaking process).