Ownership of 'waste'

With reference to the brief issued by Sheffield Homes, the majority of problems on the flatted estates derive from inappropriate use of the system by residents. The present system relies on 'good will' and the 'moral obligation' of tenants to dispose of their waste in an appropriate manner. But... what if residents had something to gain from ensuring waste was disposed in an appropriate manner? How can the 'default' be changed? An interesting issue to consider is the 'ownership' of the waste.

The system is complex and we are yet to fully understand it, however, it seems reasonable to assume that a fair amount of money is spent by the council on 'cleaning-up' after residents and by Veolia in sorting and separating collected waste. If the tenants took a more active role in sorting and properly disposing of waste then there is a potential cost saving somewhere. If this saving can be passed onto the tenants then hey presto there's the incentive! This could work by offering the tenants [dis]integrated waste management contracts, direct agreements between the tenants and Veolia. Sheffield housing would relinquish 'ownership' of the waste and instead tenants would 'own' the waste up until the point that Veolia collects.

The disposal and storage of waste on the estates would need to be designed.