Virtuous circles: Valuations of plastic recycling in Johannesburg's inner city.

IF 0.6 4区 社会学 Q3 ANTHROPOLOGY
Human Organization Pub Date : 2025-06-05 eCollection Date: 2025-01-01 DOI:10.1080/00187259.2025.2499677
Eileen Moyer, Linda Musariri, Lucy Khofi
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Imaginings of the circular economy promise to minimize waste and maximize resource efficiency by ensuring that materials are reused, recycled or repurposed in a closed-loop system resulting, ideally, in 'zero waste'. Drawing on ethnographic research, in this article we analyze the valuation of plastic and food waste within Johannesburg's inner city, and the moral and material significance attributed to them by various stakeholders, including plastic recyclers, non-profit organizations, property developers and municipal workers. We question the practice of requiring individuals living in extreme precarity to earn food through plastic waste collection, the implications of charging for donated surplus food, the fate of unrecyclable plastic, urban gentrification, and gendered and migrant experiences. Focusing on a community-based program where individuals and families exchange plastic credits for food, we examine political, economic, and moral complexities while critically evaluating the narratives of zero waste and circular economy. We introduce the concept of "social plastic" to highlight how plastic and food recycling are integrated into political and moral agendas in Johannesburg, shaping the greenwashing and social washing practices of different actors.

良性循环:约翰内斯堡内城塑料回收的价值。
循环经济的设想承诺通过确保材料在闭环系统中重复使用、回收或重新利用,从而实现理想的“零浪费”,从而最大限度地减少浪费,最大限度地提高资源效率。根据人种学研究,本文分析了约翰内斯堡内城塑料和食物垃圾的价值,以及各种利益相关者(包括塑料回收商、非营利组织、房地产开发商和市政工人)赋予它们的道德和物质意义。我们质疑要求生活在极度不稳定中的个人通过收集塑料垃圾来赚取食物的做法、对捐赠的剩余食物收费的影响、不可回收塑料的命运、城市中产阶级化、性别和移民经历。我们将重点放在一个以社区为基础的项目上,在这个项目中,个人和家庭可以用塑料积分交换食物,我们在批判性地评估零浪费和循环经济的叙述的同时,研究了政治、经济和道德的复杂性。我们引入“社会塑料”的概念,以突出塑料和食品回收如何融入约翰内斯堡的政治和道德议程,塑造不同参与者的绿色洗涤和社会洗涤行为。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
Human Organization
Human Organization Multiple-
CiteScore
1.50
自引率
0.00%
发文量
31
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