Waste workers often perform a job most people take for granted. Every day, they go through the enormous volumes of trash, recyclables, and discarded material society produces, ensuring our spaces are clean and habitable. Although they are an essential part of our infrastructure, they are largely underappreciated and exposed to huge health and safety risks. […]
Personal Reflection on Waste Workers. Read More »
Questions for this week: Who does the dirty work of waste removal in major cities in the Global North? What are their experiences like? What forms do their organizations take? How can waste work be used as a form of resistance to dominant economic structures? What strategies can waste workers use to challenge the stigma
An interesting piece in the readings on care and repair for me this week was access to the knowledge and skills required to repair items. Many of the mending and repair skills discussed in the readings are completely lost to time. Even a skill like sewing is becoming less and less commonly practiced. This only
Repair and Consumerism Read More »
This weekend I attended a conference at Yale University and so I was not in my dorm or actual house very much. What I have accumulated are a lot of paper and recyclable items. I noticed that I use lots of tissues and don’t throw away food items, especially in my dorm room. Through tracking
Before industrialization, households were resourceful and innovative in making their belongings last. However, with the rise of technology and modern society, consumerism has taken precedence, leading people to rely on corporations to address issues once solved through self-sufficiency. Over time, there has been an increasing desire for privacy, evident in trends such as digital communication,
Why Companies Love Individualization of Responsibility Read More »
Though many of us hold ourselves to blame for the epidemic of trash waste that has been building up more and more over the years, it is not apparent that many aspects of this are not actually the individual’s fault. As plastic and other packaging materials have become cheaper and cheaper, making reusable options often
Convenience of waste Read More »
Everywhere we look, we’re told that we can shop our way to sustainability – buy a reusable straw, switch to an electric car, choose “green” cleaning products, and we’ll be doing our part to save the planet. This mindset, often called “green consumerism,” makes people feel individually responsible for environmental destruction while allowing corporations and
Why Green Consumerism Won’t save the Planet Read More »
Before this week, I was not very familiar with the extreme amount of work that went into taking care of material objects at the beginning of the industrial era. In particular, I found the reading by Susan Strasser to be quite interesting. I especially liked her detailed explanations of the specific processes of caring for
Personal Reflection on Care and Repair Read More »
Looking at the amount of waste in the contemporary world, it’s striking how disposable everything has become—food, clothing, electronics and many more. In fact, nowadays, it has become very easy to just throw something you don’t want anymore. Waste seems to be the product of a convenience- and profit-based culture where planned obsolescence is the
The High Cost of Convenience: Waste, Repair, and Responsibility Read More »
A personal theory I have about why there is so much waste in the world has to do with human psychology. People love convenience and ease, and the fewer barriers to entry you can provide for people make your product more profitable. For example, the packaging and preservatives in food allow it to last longer
Individual Responsibility Read More »