ABSTRACT
This chapter draws from a larger research project wherein we take an actor-network theory (ANT) approach to examining the creation, implementation and aftermath of a program of residential curbside collection of food waste for composting in the city of Portland, Oregon, USA. Our ultimate aim is to better understand the kinds of actors, assemblages and translations with real promise for making contemporary systems of production and consumption more environmentally sustainable and socially equitable (Martin and Schouten 2012). Social science approaches to problems of consumerism and sustainability have repeatedly run up against an intransigent attitude–behavior gap (Kilbourne and Pickett 2008; Kollmuss and Agyeman 2002). We believe the problem may lie in prioritizing consumer agency and the idealist notions that cultural change begins with cognition, values and attitudes. We begin by discussing actor-network theorization and its appropriateness for this study. We then describe our methodology. Our findings report the apparent success of the municipal food scraps composting program (hereafter referred to simply as “the program”) and the key elements of that success. We discuss actors, both human and non-human, that contributed to the overall performance of the program, in some cases threatening to destabilize or undermine it.
