Vol. 9 (2026)
Waste Ethnographies

Waste Ethnographies: An Introduction

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  • Trine Brox
Trine Brox
University of Copenhagen
Cover image of Worldwide Waste journal, showing a derelict car on a grassy sward.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3197/whpww.63857928646682

Published 2026-09-21

Keywords

  • Asia,
  • Bearing Witness,
  • Buddhism,
  • Waste Ethnography,
  • Waste Imaginaries,
  • Waste Materialities
    • ...More
    Less

How to Cite

Brox, T. (2026). Waste Ethnographies: An Introduction. Worldwide Waste, 9, 15–25. https://doi.org/10.3197/whpww.63857928646682

Copyright (c) 2026 Brox Trine

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

Any attempt to address the global waste crisis requires an understanding of waste as both a material reality and a social construct embedded in power relations, social hierarchies, infrastructures and beliefs. As the waste ethnographies in this issue illustrate, ethnography can add important perspectives on waste by exploring how waste is experienced, imagined and materially enacted in particular times and places, rather than treating it as a fixed and self-evident category. This introduction reflects on the affordances and limitations of waste ethnographies. It discusses the ambiguities of waste, how waste ethnographies can enrich our understanding of the material and imaginary entanglements that give rise to specific waste practices, and what it means to be an ethnographer of waste who witnesses and problematises what they see. It also highlights the portability and broader significance of waste and discard studies concepts and frameworks, which can open new perspectives on religious, cultural and social phenomena that might otherwise be overlooked.

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