Organising Waste in the City : International Perspectives on Narratives and Practices

This book offers a critical perspective on the issue of organising waste in cities, which has often been positioned in terms of relatively narrow engineering, economic and physical science approaches. It emphasises the ways in which the notion of waste, and the narratives and discourses associated with it, have been socially constructed with corresponding implications for waste governance and local waste handling practices. Organising waste in the city takes a broad and international approach to the ways in which the issue of waste is framed, and brings together narratives from cities as diverse as Amsterdam, Bristol, Cairo, Gothenburg, Helsingborg and Managua. Organised into four main sections and with an integrative introduction and conclusion, the book not only provides new insights into the hidden stories of urban and municipal household solid waste and waste landscapes, but also connects concerns regarding urban waste to such issues as globalisation, governance, urban ecology, and social, economic and environmental justice. Organising waste in the city Contents List of figures and tables Figures Tables Abbreviations Notes on contributors Acknowledgements 1. Introduction: narratives of organising waste in the city Spaces, places and sites of waste in the city Global waste discourses and narratives shaping local practices Waste governance and management practices Waste and environmental, economic and social justice Structure of the book Part I 2. The ecological and environmental significance of urban wastelands and drosscapes Introduction Wasteland as urban wilderness Urban biodiversity Wasteland and urban species richness Conclusion: valuing wasteland 3. The function of waste urban infrastructures as heterotopias of the city: narratives from Gothenburg and Managua Introduction Narratives of waste from Managua Narratives of waste from Gothenburg Functions of waste urban infrastructures as heterotopias of the city Inverting waste infrastructures and opening up the heterotopias of the city Part II 4. When clean and green meets the Emerald Isle: contrasting waste governance narratives in Ireland and New Zealand Introduction Governance landscapes Governing waste Stakeholder interactions Conclusion 5. Waste in translation: global ideas of urban waste management in local practice Introduction A close reading of waste management texts Global ideas on waste management Locally practised ideas of sustainable waste management Global ideas and local practice Conclusion Part III 6. Governance in a bottle Introduction Snapshots of Italian waste policy Ethnography of a non-human in an actor-network taking care of non-humans Research setting and techniques Conclusion 7. Hybrid organisations in waste management: public and private organisations in a deregulated market environment Introduction Public and private interests in waste management Developments in the Dutch waste management sector Issues with hybrid organisations in waste management Conclusion 8. Waste management companies: critical urban infrastructural services that design the sociomateriality of waste Introduction Sweden’s efforts to climb the waste hierarchy Changing the sociomateriality of waste Designing sociomateriality in practice Waste management as a critical urban infrastructure service Conclusion Part IV 9. Cairo’s contested waste: the Zabaleen’s local practices and privatisation policies Introduction History of the Zabaleen rubbish collectors Privatisation of Cairo’s waste management system Impact of the privatised waste management system Swine flu pandemic and the slaughtering of the Zabaleen’s pigs Future of privatised waste management Conclusion 10. Ecomodern discourse and localised narratives: waste policy, community mobilisation and governmentality in Ireland Introduction Narratives: socioenvironmental narratives and the community Governance: ecological modernisation and the state Emergence of the Irish state’s regional waste plans The 2000 Environmental Protection Agency millennium report Community response to waste regional plans: governance and waste management disputes in Ireland Conclusion: governmentality and waste 11. Waste collection as an environmental justice issue: a case study of a neighbourhood in Bristol, UK Introduction Concept of environmental justice Waste and environmental justice UK municipal waste policy Waste and environmental justice in a disadvantaged area of Bristol, UK Conclusion 12. Conclusions: framing the organising of waste in the city Introduction Global narratives of waste translated into local practices Waste narratives and infrastructures for more sustainable urban transformations Transition from a ‘wasting less’ narrative to ‘wasting less’ practices Waste narratives, infrastructures, governance and power Future policy implications Index

This book offers a critical perspective on the issue of organising waste in cities, which has often been positioned in terms of relatively narrow engineering, economic and physical science approaches. It emphasises the ways in which the notion of waste, and the narratives and discourses associated with it, have been socially constructed with corresponding implications for waste governance and local waste handling practices.

Organising waste in the city takes a broad and international approach to the ways in which the issue of waste is framed, and brings together narratives from cities as diverse as Amsterdam, Bristol, Cairo, Gothenburg, Helsingborg and Managua. Organised into four main sections and with an integrative introduction and conclusion, the book not only provides new insights into the hidden stories of urban and municipal household solid waste and waste landscapes, but also connects concerns regarding urban waste to such issues as globalisation, governance, urban ecology, and social, economic and environmental justice.

Constructions and narratives of waste takes a broad and international approach to the ways in which the issue of waste is framed, and brings together narratives from cities as diverse as Amsterdam, Bristol, Cairo, Gothenburg, Helsingborg and Managua __Organising Waste in the City__ takes a broad and international approach to the ways in which the issue of waste is framed, and brings together narratives from cities as diverse as Amsterdam, Bristol, Cairo, Gothenburg, Helsingborg and Managua.