Waste
Description
In this unique book, Kate O'Neill traces the emergence of the global political economy of wastes over the past two decades. Using the tools and frameworks of global environmental politics, she explains how the emergence of waste governance initiatives and mechanisms can help us deal with both the risks and the opportunities associated with the hundreds of millions - possibly billions - of tons of waste we generate each year. Drawing on a range of fascinating case studies to develop her arguments, including China's role as the primary recipient of recyclable plastics and scrap paper from the western world, "Zero-Waste" initiatives, the emergence of transnational waste-pickers' alliances, and alternatives for managing growing volumes of electronic wastes, O'Neill shows how waste can be a risk, a resource and even a livelihood, with implications for governance at local, national, and global levels.
Reviews / Votes
'In this important book, Kate O'Neill expertly traces the complex international trade flows behind the prodigious volumes of waste generated by global consumer society. A valuable and illuminating contribution to current debates about if and how we make the shift to more sustainable lifestyles.'Maurie Cohen, New Jersey Institute of Technology
"In Kate O'Neill's latest work, waste is a new resource frontier. But for whom? Where? And under what conditions? Take this eye popping journey through rich case studies of wastes and their movement around the planet. O'Neill shows readers how waste presents one of the most challenging problems of global environmental politics imaginable."
Josh Lepawsky, Memorial University
"A marvelously crafted and grippingly written book about one of the most pressing challenges facing our planet. Do not waste your time: the sooner you read this book the more you will not only learn about the ways in which humans systematically fail to use so much of the resources they have extracted to produce stuff, but also ways in which governments, the private sector, non-governmental organizations and individuals can turn to this expanding 'global resource frontier' to reduce our impact"
Ben Cashore, Yale University
'In this important book, Kate O'Neill expertly traces the complex international trade flows behind the prodigious volumes of waste generated by global consumer society. A valuable and illuminating contribution to current debates about if and how we make the shift to more sustainable lifestyles.'
<b>Maurie Cohen, New Jersey Institute of Technology
</b>
"In Kate O'Neill's latest work, waste is a new resource frontier. But for whom? Where? And under what conditions? Take this eye popping journey through rich case studies of wastes and their movement around the planet. O'Neill shows readers how waste presents one of the most challenging problems of global environmental politics imaginable."
<b>Josh Lepawsky, Memorial University</b>
"A marvelously crafted and grippingly written book about one of the most pressing challenges facing our planet. Do not waste your time: the sooner you read this book the more you will not only learn about the ways in which humans systematically fail to use so much of the resources they have extracted to produce stuff, but also ways in which governments, the private sector, non-governmental organizations and individuals can turn to this expanding 'global resource frontier' to reduce our impact"
<b>Ben Cashore, Yale University</b>
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Content
List of Acronyms
Preface and Acknowledgements
Chapter 1: The Global Political Economy of Waste
Chapter 2: Understanding Wastes
Chapter 3: Waste Work
Chapter 4: Discarded Electronics
Chapter 5: Food Waste
Chapter 6: Plastic Scrap
Conclusion: A World without Waste?
Notes
Selected Readings
References