The interface between political ecology and actor-network theories:
exploring the reality of waste
Abstract
Human-environment relationship is a prominent discourse in many academic
disciplines. Initial studies in social sciences viewed nature being
independent of society but gradually researchers proved that both are
related and dependent upon each other. Current studies confirm the
association between humans and the environment which changes with time
and space. Waste is part of the human environment and is ubiquitous.
Climate change, environmental pollution, and vulnerabilities associated
with it have been major concerns for policymakers, activists, and
academicians across the globe over the past couple of decades. The
report of International Solid Waste Association (ISWA) and United
Nations Environment Program (UNEP) in 2006 delineated waste management
as an important part of urban infrastructure having close relation to
issues of urban lifestyle, resource consumption pattern, income level,
jobs, socio-economic and cultural factors. According to World Bank
estimation in 2018, waste generation will increase from 2.01 billion
tones in 2016 to 3.40 billion tones in 2050. However, despite its
significance in the academic world, the waste remains under-theorized.
The meaning and value of waste vary from person to person and also from
culture to culture. Rapid urbanization and globalization have led to the
social, economic and political crisis with an increased amount of waste.
The multidimensional nature of waste creates the need for interpreting
it in a distinct way. With the help of theoretical pluralism, this paper
aims at explaining the concept of waste through the theoretical lens of
political ecology and actor-network theory. The political ecology
perspective aims at explaining the environmental issues by analyzing the
political-economical causes and provides the alternative for solving the
issue. The actor-network theory explains the environmental issues by
studying the association among actors at various scales with a special
focus on the power interest of the actors as the cause of such
association. These two approaches can be integrated based on the
pragmatic approach and can help in understanding the complex reality of
waste. The paper views that societal problems like waste can be studied
with the use of both these theories with a firm hold on the context as
they tend to transcend the dualism between nature and society.