ABSTRACT
Solid waste is a major urban challenge worldwide and reclaiming the materials embedded in waste streams is a necessary response to it. The form in which we manage our waste matters and decisions over which technology or method to apply can have beneficial or detrimental long-term consequences. This book discusses many different social, cultural, economic and environmental facets of waste management and recycling. In Chapter 1, I introduce the multiple narratives and the interdisciplinary nature of waste studies. I describe the broad scenarios related to waste, from production and consumption to discard and recycling. The debate draws the attention to the wide-reaching, and pressing social, economic and environmental challenges related to waste management, particularly in Southern city contexts. In cities in the global South approximately 0.5 to 1 per cent of the population works in informal household waste collection and separation of recyclables.
Collective and institutionalized forms of resource recovery, such as those involving recycling cooperatives, associations, or small social/environmental entrepreneurs, are introduced as alternatives in waste management co-production. Inclusive waste management requires a governance shift, allowing for deep levels of participation and deliberative conditions through which social and environmental justice issues are tackled. Key themes discussed in the following nine chapters are briefly outlined here and the notion of inclusive recycling and waste management contributing towards sustainable and more resilient communities and ultimately more inclusive cities becomes delineated.
