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Technological Seduction versus Waste Reduction : An Analysis of Swedish Waste Management Culture and Consumerism

Le Tran, Dalena LU (2019) HEKM51 20191
Human Ecology
Abstract
Sweden is well known for having the world’s most efficient waste management system. Mainstream evaluation of the waste management system generally focuses on economics or psychology perspectives using solely quantitative methods to examine recycling outputs but not waste inputs. However, a rising movement within scholarly literature as well as public discourse points out a need to focus on preventing waste in the first place. According to these perspectives, the highly advanced recycling scheme may be giving way to a certain technological utopianism that justifies excessive consumption with the idea that recycling is more than enough to compensate for resulting environmental degradation. As such, this study used a mixed-method approach... (More)
Sweden is well known for having the world’s most efficient waste management system. Mainstream evaluation of the waste management system generally focuses on economics or psychology perspectives using solely quantitative methods to examine recycling outputs but not waste inputs. However, a rising movement within scholarly literature as well as public discourse points out a need to focus on preventing waste in the first place. According to these perspectives, the highly advanced recycling scheme may be giving way to a certain technological utopianism that justifies excessive consumption with the idea that recycling is more than enough to compensate for resulting environmental degradation. As such, this study used a mixed-method approach featuring qualitative interviews and secondary quantitative data to investigate the ways in which Swedish waste management culture encourages and discourages waste generation and possible solutions for consumption reduction. Results indicated that individuals were actually already aware that recycling is not enough, acknowledging that their consumption was problematic. Many already actively sought to reduce their consumption, though the diverse ways in which this occurred and the degree of success met varied greatly depending on the emotion norms and structural possibilities within their lived contexts. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Le Tran, Dalena LU
supervisor
organization
course
HEKM51 20191
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
waste management, Sweden, recycling, consumer behavior, anxiety, denial, garbage, consumption, reduction, spillover
language
English
id
8981472
date added to LUP
2019-12-18 10:35:36
date last changed
2019-12-18 10:35:36
@misc{8981472,
  abstract     = {{Sweden is well known for having the world’s most efficient waste management system. Mainstream evaluation of the waste management system generally focuses on economics or psychology perspectives using solely quantitative methods to examine recycling outputs but not waste inputs. However, a rising movement within scholarly literature as well as public discourse points out a need to focus on preventing waste in the first place. According to these perspectives, the highly advanced recycling scheme may be giving way to a certain technological utopianism that justifies excessive consumption with the idea that recycling is more than enough to compensate for resulting environmental degradation. As such, this study used a mixed-method approach featuring qualitative interviews and secondary quantitative data to investigate the ways in which Swedish waste management culture encourages and discourages waste generation and possible solutions for consumption reduction. Results indicated that individuals were actually already aware that recycling is not enough, acknowledging that their consumption was problematic. Many already actively sought to reduce their consumption, though the diverse ways in which this occurred and the degree of success met varied greatly depending on the emotion norms and structural possibilities within their lived contexts.}},
  author       = {{Le Tran, Dalena}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Technological Seduction versus Waste Reduction : An Analysis of Swedish Waste Management Culture and Consumerism}},
  year         = {{2019}},
}