Managing Social Acceptance of NIMBY Facilities. A Systematic-Narrative Hybrid Literature Review

Not-In-My-Backyard (NIMBY) facilities play a key role in the sustainable development of countries and their successful introduction and operation has become increasingly influenced by acceptance by local communities. Among the so-called NIMBY facilities, a chemical recycling plant often encounters resistance from the population due to its (potential) hazardous effects. Although over the last decade social acceptance of NIMBY facilities has attracted many researchers and practitioners, a comprehensive review of the factors that affect community acceptance of NIMBY facilities is still missing, especially with regards to chemical recycling. In order to fill this gap, this paper offers a comprehensive review of the factors that affect community acceptance and the levers that mitigate the NIMBY syndrome. Through a systematicnarrative hybrid literature review, the paper identifies factors related to the plant itself (location, pre-existence and aesthetic appearance), community characteristics (demographic factors, socio-cultural context and public trust) and perceptions of risks (environmental, health and area depletion). The levers that promote social acceptance are: compensatory mechanisms and potential benefits, public information and transparency, controls and stakeholder engagement. The results of this paper enrich the existing literature concerning NIMBY syndrome management with managerial implications for both facility managers and policy makers.