Hervé Corvellec
Professor
A performative definition of waste prevention
Författare
Summary, in English
The increasing importance being placed on waste prevention in European waste governance raises the question of how waste prevention is defined in practice. This paper presents a qualitative analysis of a sample of fifty-one Swedish waste prevention initiatives with the purpose of identifying which kind of actions are imagined, promoted, and set into motion under the label of waste prevention. The analysis shows that despite their apparent variety, the initiatives in the sample boil down to three main types of actions: raising awareness about the need to prevent waste, increasing material efficiency, and developing sustainable consumption. In contradistinction to the formal definition of waste prevention in the European Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC), what emerges from analyzing the initiatives in the sample is a performative definition of waste prevention as something heterogeneous, contradictory, and evolving. Such a definition of waste prevention in practice provides an understanding of the organizational dynamics of waste prevention.
Avdelning/ar
- Institutionen för tjänstevetenskap
Publiceringsår
2016
Språk
Engelska
Sidor
3-13
Publikation/Tidskrift/Serie
Waste Management: international journal of integrated waste management, science and technology
Volym
52
Dokumenttyp
Artikel i tidskrift
Förlag
Elsevier
Ämne
- Social Sciences Interdisciplinary
Nyckelord
- Waste prevention
- Sustainable consumption
- Performative definition
- Material efficiency
Status
Published
Projekt
- From waste management to waste prevention. Closing implementation gaps through sustainable action nets
ISBN/ISSN/Övrigt
- ISSN: 0956-053X