Landfills and disasters: a geospatial analysis of environmental injustice across the Southern United States

ABSTRACT One under-explored area of concern is the relationship between disasters and the waste they generate, which often amounts to the equivalent of 5 to 15 years of garbage that a community would create under normal circumstances. The road to recovery depends heavily on the removal of waste and debris, the bulk of which is directed towards construction and demolition (C&D), industrial, and municipal landfills. This paper theoretically develops and empirically evaluates the spatial distribution of disasters and waste using environmental justice and spatial inequality frameworks. We employ the spatial durbin model (SDM) to analyze the distribution of landfills, disaster events, and socioeconomic factors for 613 counties in the southeastern region of the United States. Findings demonstrate the disproportionate concentration of landfills in poor areas with high female-householder families and minority populations. We also find natural disasters have significant impacts on the communities that process waste. Conclusions point to the benefits of using spatial perspectives and companion analytic approaches to deepen our understanding of environmental inequality.