ABSTRACT
This chapter explores eco-effluences and the greening of imperialism. The first section discusses unwanted stuff – effluences which become discards – from material and cultural perspectives. The second section sets out the different ways effluences are managed and explains how the category ‘waste’ defines the problem they pose for mainstream sustainability as one of (in)efficiency. The third section argues that the category ‘pollution’ is key to a better sustainability with respect to effluences particularly because it raises the problem of (in)justice. By exploring interactions between centres and margins in relation to effluences, the fourth section develops this point further, including how political and economic forces give rise to effluence imperialism. The fifth section extends the analysis by including the shift from denial to action in relation to the environmental crisis. It is argued, contrary to many popular accounts, that action will not result in the eventual demise of unwanted stuff, but instead will create eco-effluences leading to eco-effluence imperialism. The final section reemphasises distributive justice as the starting point for a better sustainability regarding unwanted stuff and then makes the case for a more relational approach to effluences and discards based on the principles of proximity and precaution.
