Turning livelihood to rubbish? The politics of value and valuation in South Africa's urban waste sector

Abstract

This chapter is a summary of research into different types of waste interventions in South Africa. The neoliberalisation of the South African state, the widening socio-ecological polarisation and the discursive emphasis on pursuing a more socially inclusive and ecologically benign development trajectory turn the South African case into an emblematic example of urban waste transition. The examination of interventions in the urban metabolic waste stream provides a lens through which to capture some of the key processes, contradictions and transformations. The chapter describes the dynamic institutional, technical, social and political-ecological landscape of waste management in South Africa and how this in turn is shaping the practices by which waste is transformed into economic and social value, who is allowed to claim such benefits, and what makes for successful claims. The empirical work is based on investigations into 1) the technologisation of waste management, 2) the differential impacts of the internationalisation of waste management finance and 3) initiatives that emphasise collaborative governance and community participation and awareness as means of improving waste management.