Exploring and Illustrating the (Inter-)Disciplinarity of Waste and Zero Waste Management

Abstract

The aim of this research was to explore the composition, contribution and arrangement of scientific disciplines, across the spectrum from, traditional waste management, to alternative, contemporary approaches, such as the zero waste and circular economy movements. The purpose of this research is to better address the challenge of waste by enhancing the understanding and future employment of interdisciplinary theory and practice. The first outcome of the review strategy employed in this research was to, illustrate a generic rubric of scientific disciplines and to highlight and discuss key disciplines most obviously connected to waste management. This graphic illustration was then overlain with the findings from systematically reviewing a diverse range of indicators and sources of insight and information on the disciplines and interdisciplinarity evident across the spectrum from waste to zero waste management approaches. The resulting final graphic illustrates the intense disciplinarity and hence, the significant interdisciplinary requirement of (zero) waste management. An observation emerging from this research is that, successfully managing the globalised complexity of waste issues and in this, addressing the challenges of climate change and sustainable development, requires cultivating synergy between multiple scientific and practical disciplines. The scope of this challenge increases with the adoption of more holistic, aspirational, countercultural approaches, such as zero waste. It is argued that, enhancing interdisciplinary training and collaboration in research, education and industry/community practice, will improve performance across the spectrum of worldviews, from waste to zero waste.