“Taking Up Space: Waste and Waste Labor in Developing South Korea” examines South Korean development experiences through the remnants of its industrialization and modernization processes, including... Show more“Taking Up Space: Waste and Waste Labor in Developing South Korea” examines South Korean development experiences through the remnants of its industrialization and modernization processes, including material waste, excess labor, or surplus population. I juxtapose the history of informal waste pickers with the transformation of waste management and the reconfiguration of its labor during the period from the 1960s to the early 1990s. By connecting the material, social, and symbolic dimensions of waste, I demonstrate how waste shaped their stigma and social position, degraded the urban environment as much as it deteriorated their living and working conditions, and brought social and environmental forces that further drove their marginalization. The case studies—waste picker camps and Seoul’s Nanjido Landfill—illustrate how concepts such as informality, precarity, and societal marginalization have been historically mediated and grounded in individuals’ lives during the country’s compressed development process.This study demonstrates how the production of marginalized populations and the disregard for their labor practices served to consolidate the developing nation-state and its middle-class citizens. It argues that the informal labor at the urban periphery was instrumental in the development process and should be recognized as legitimate labor rather than mere subsistence activities. Waste pickers not only served as agents of development but also as a precedent for precarious workers in modern Korea. The prevalence of waste pickers in contemporary South Korea indicates a diachronic implication of this dissertation, as their labor remains crucial for urban conditions while simultaneously establishing an urban form of precarity. Show less
This article is about the rise and fall of ocean incineration, a method for the disposal of hazardous chemical waste that was initiated in the late 1960s, developed, tested, and perfected... Show moreThis article is about the rise and fall of ocean incineration, a method for the disposal of hazardous chemical waste that was initiated in the late 1960s, developed, tested, and perfected throughout the 1970s, commercialized in the 1980s, and eventually phased out from the 1990s onwards. Ocean incineration consisted in the offshore destruction of toxic liquid substances in specially designed ships outfitted with high-temperature combustion chambers and high stacks. When this technology broke through, it seemed like a panacea. It heralded the safe disposal of noxious compounds such as organochlorines and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which were ubiquitous by-products of petrochemical industrial processes. It promised to minimize private companies’ externalities and ease environmental concerns. But it ultimately failed to provide an alternative to safely disposing of toxic waste. What does explain such a decline? This article answers this question by arguing that the demise of ocean incineration was due to the combination of locally oriented and transnationally driven protests, which emerged across the (North) Atlantic and exposed the dangerous and highly exploitative nature of such a practice. Show less
Reeder, A. de; Hendriks, P.; Plas, H. van der; Zweers, D.; Overbeeke, P.S.M. van; Gravendeel, J.; ... ; Burgmans, M.C. 2023
BackgroundHealthcare is a highly polluting industry and attention to the need for making this sector more sustainable is growing. The interventional radiology (IR) department is a relatively unique... Show moreBackgroundHealthcare is a highly polluting industry and attention to the need for making this sector more sustainable is growing. The interventional radiology (IR) department is a relatively unique department in the hospital because of its synergetic use of both imaging equipment and medical instruments. As a result, the interventional radiology department causes a significant environmental burden in terms of energy usage, waste and water pollution. The aim of this study was to explore the current state of sustainability within IR by conducting a survey and interviews among IR specialists in the Netherlands.ResultsThe main findings of this study were that there is a high awareness for the need of sustainability within IR, but that there is still limited action. Previous studies point towards the various opportunities in the field of energy, waste and water pollution, yet our study unveils these opportunities are often not implemented because of (1) sustainability not being a priority, (2) a dependency on employees, and (3) factors that simply cannot be changed by an individual IR department or hospital. Generally, our study indicates that there is a willingness to become more sustainable, but that the current system involves a wide range barriers that hinder true change. Furthermore, it seems that no one is currently taking the lead and a leading role from higher management, government, healthcare authorities or professional societies is lacking.ConclusionsDespite the hurdles found in our study, IR departments can implement several improvements. An important factor is that sustainability should not lead to lower convenience for employees, which can be ensured by a sufficiently designed waste infrastructure and behavioral nudges. Furthermore, there lies an opportunity in more collaboration between IR departments in knowledge sharing and open innovation. Show less
This dissertation investigates the relationship between waste recycling and social change. Instead of complying with a prevailing notion of recycling as an environmental solution, or as material... Show moreThis dissertation investigates the relationship between waste recycling and social change. Instead of complying with a prevailing notion of recycling as an environmental solution, or as material conversion and trade, this research maintains that recycling is about people, their relation to objects and environments, their networks of interaction and modes of thoughts. The empirical focus of this dissertation is Tzu-chi recycling: a volunteer-operated, community-based, Buddhism-associated national movement in Taiwan since the 1990s. This research analyzes Tzu-chi recycling at three levels: individual, communal and institutional. It studies Tzu-chi recycling against the backdrop of Taiwan’s drastic social change: the economic and demographic restructuring, a movement of political localization, and the dynamic powers of religious phenomenon. By doing so, the dissertation shows post-authoritarian Taiwan through the lens of waste recycling, and understands waste recycling through Taiwan. Overall, it contends that in different forms of action and ways of seeing, Tzu-chi-associated members redefine recycling as a past-oriented strategy and a redemptive tool to deal with different consequences of modernity. From the vantage point of waste, this research sheds light on the entanglement between a society’s development and its waste as an examination of its continuum and rupture between present and past. Through the chapters of this dissertation, it becomes clear that, above all, rubbish is at the core of meaningful and coordinated social activity; it makes us who we are. Show less
Ocean incineration, i.e., the thermal destruction of toxic substances in ships outfitted with high-temperature combustion chambers, promised to solve the age-old problem of hazardous waste disposal... Show moreOcean incineration, i.e., the thermal destruction of toxic substances in ships outfitted with high-temperature combustion chambers, promised to solve the age-old problem of hazardous waste disposal. This method was perfected throughout the 1970s and commercialized in the early 1980s, only to be abandoned by the end of that decade. My paper charts the rise and fall of ocean incineration and explains its decline. I argue that local and transnational protests formed the main constraint on ocean incineration. My research, combining social and environmental history, shows how a trans-local coalition challenged uneven socio-ecological developments through a successful “Ban the Burn” campaign. Show less
This dissertation discusses “waste” and related concepts such as sanitation, hygiene, and recycling as a lens through which to analyze the incorporation of women into the nation-state (josei no... Show moreThis dissertation discusses “waste” and related concepts such as sanitation, hygiene, and recycling as a lens through which to analyze the incorporation of women into the nation-state (josei no kokuminka) in modern Japan (from 1868 to the present). During the state-led “modernization” of the Meiji period (1868-1912), a new ideology of the home (katei) began to emerge which placed women at the center of family life, as a housewife who supported her husband and raised her children. This “feminization and privatization of the home” excluded domestic activities, and the women who engaged in them, from the public sphere, though the home as a private and intimate space was celebrated as such in national discourse. The connection between women and the state, which had previously been only through their husbands and children, became a direct relationship after the First World War once the state realized the importance of the household to national policies. This creation of a direct relationship between women and the state through women’s domestic duties signified the incorporation of women into the nation-state. Waste represents an ideal site to examine the relationship between women and the nation-state because of its connection to both the home and the state. Show less
Urbanization is known to spur land modification in the form of conversion of common land to human settlements. This factor, combined with climate variability, can alter the duration, frequency and... Show moreUrbanization is known to spur land modification in the form of conversion of common land to human settlements. This factor, combined with climate variability, can alter the duration, frequency and intensity of storm drain overflows in urban areas and lead to public health risks. In peri-urban regions where these risks are especially high it has been argued that, when domestic wastewater is managed, better prospects for freshwater water savings through swaps between urban water supply and irrigated agriculture may be possible. As a consequence of re-use of domestic wastewater, expenditure on inorganic inputs by farmers may decline and source sustainability of water supply could be enhanced. Given the fact that, at present, approximately 20 million ha of land worldwide is being cultivated by re-using domestic wastewater, this paper draws on evidence from India to explore: (1) the economic costs-benefits of wastewater reuse in the context of hypothesized links to climate variability; (2) the role of local farming practices, market conditions and crop variety in influencing wastewater reuse in agriculture; and (3) the role of inter-governmental financing in influencing the selection of technical adaptation options for collection, treatment and disposal of wastewater. Show less
The research presented in this thesis falls within a relatively new scientific field of research: Industrial Ecology, which is concerned with studying society’s metabolism to analyze the causes of... Show moreThe research presented in this thesis falls within a relatively new scientific field of research: Industrial Ecology, which is concerned with studying society’s metabolism to analyze the causes of environmental problems and indicate possibilities for more sustainable management of materials. The research is aimed at developing a dynamic substance flow-stock model that can be used to estimate future resource availability, emissions and waste streams. The developed model extends the currently available SFA models in three respects. Firstly, by combining flows and stocks. Secondly, it combines physical and economic elements. And thirdly, it operates at two levels: those of products and substances. The model has been applied to two case studies aimed at evaluating the economic and environmental consequences of the developments of lead flows and stocks and investigating the potential long-term impact of the use of platinum in fuel cell technology. The main outcome of the lead model suggests that in the Netherlands the amount of lead available for recycling is expected to exceed its demand. If comparable developments can be detected on a larger scale, the landfill and incineration streams might increase at the expense of recycling and consequently an increase in emissions. The outcome of the platinum model suggests that the identified resources of platinum will be depleted before the end of the century if no additional measures are taken. Moreover, the increased production of platinum will not have major consequences for the co-produced copper cycle. For nickel, the supply from platinum ores is expected to exceed its demand, which will have profound consequences for both the primary mining and the recycling of nickel. Show less
