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One man's trash is another man's treasure. A study of how waste is conceptualised, perceived and handled. Case study of Mumbai, India.

Nygren, Måns LU (2015) HEKM50 20141
Human Ecology
Abstract
Where there are humans there is also waste.
When studying archaeology waste is one of the most important objects to analyse. In our society waste is however far from treasured, or is it? Sweden imports more waste than it produces and turns it into energy. The density of minerals is higher in landfills than at its original source with waste being transported all over the world there is a seemingly never ending business.
But let’s leave the larger scale for a second and go down to where the real work is being done. All over the world millions of people make their living from picking, sorting and recycling waste. What happens on lowest level where people are struggling to survive every day and the only mean of survival is picking up and... (More)
Where there are humans there is also waste.
When studying archaeology waste is one of the most important objects to analyse. In our society waste is however far from treasured, or is it? Sweden imports more waste than it produces and turns it into energy. The density of minerals is higher in landfills than at its original source with waste being transported all over the world there is a seemingly never ending business.
But let’s leave the larger scale for a second and go down to where the real work is being done. All over the world millions of people make their living from picking, sorting and recycling waste. What happens on lowest level where people are struggling to survive every day and the only mean of survival is picking up and selling trash? The same trash that the middle and upper class gladly disregarded as worthless and foul is now being transformed into something of value.

The road a product takes from resource to final product to waste to resource again is full of emotions, morale, perspectives. Nothing is neutral in this world and nothing, absolutely nothing, is without value. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Nygren, Måns LU
supervisor
organization
course
HEKM50 20141
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Waste, Integrated Waste Management, Mumbai, intersectional analysis, dehumanisation, inclusion/exclusion, power dynamics, transformations.
language
English
id
5129436
date added to LUP
2015-11-06 13:27:28
date last changed
2015-11-06 13:27:28
@misc{5129436,
  abstract     = {{Where there are humans there is also waste.
When studying archaeology waste is one of the most important objects to analyse. In our society waste is however far from treasured, or is it? Sweden imports more waste than it produces and turns it into energy. The density of minerals is higher in landfills than at its original source with waste being transported all over the world there is a seemingly never ending business.
But let’s leave the larger scale for a second and go down to where the real work is being done. All over the world millions of people make their living from picking, sorting and recycling waste. What happens on lowest level where people are struggling to survive every day and the only mean of survival is picking up and selling trash? The same trash that the middle and upper class gladly disregarded as worthless and foul is now being transformed into something of value. 

The road a product takes from resource to final product to waste to resource again is full of emotions, morale, perspectives. Nothing is neutral in this world and nothing, absolutely nothing, is without value.}},
  author       = {{Nygren, Måns}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{One man's trash is another man's treasure. A study of how waste is conceptualised, perceived and handled. Case study of Mumbai, India.}},
  year         = {{2015}},
}