Conceptualising Reuse in African Households

Perspectives from Chembe, Malawi

Bibliographic Data

ID15110600
AuthorsMarc Kalina (0000-0002-6335-3845, ETH Zurich, corresponding author), Mvuselelo Ngcoya (0000-0002-7601-7488, University of KwaZulu-Natal), Bembeyere Nkhoma (University of Malawi), Elizabeth Tilley (0000-0002-2095-9724, University of Malawi)
Year2022
Volume24
Issue10
Pages12404-12426
Publication date2022-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEnvironment Development and Sustainability (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1387-585X • E-ISSN: 1573-2975
PublisherSpringer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1007/s10668-021-01955-3
OpenAlexW3212123786
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited27

African households are often models of sustainability, practicing daily behaviours, which, if even not directly associated by the individual with Western conceptualisations of ‘recycling’ or ‘reuse’, have dramatically positive impacts on the amounts of household waste generated. However, rarely has the African household been given the same consideration, and there is a poor understanding within the discipline how poor individuals, and Africans in particular, understand and conceptualise ‘waste’ as both a problem and a resource. Drawing on Kennedy and Appadurai’s theoretical perspectives, the purpose of this article is to critically examine and contextualise household solid waste reuse practices in Chembe, Malawi, a rapidly densifying village and a constituent part of one of the nation’s premier resort destinations. Drawing on extensive ethnographic fieldwork with residents and stakeholders, findings suggest that, within Chembe, reuse practices, and the motivations that drive them, are both widespread and diverse, with a multitude of ‘waste’ items living multiple ‘lives’ before being ultimately discarded as ‘trash’. These behaviours are facilitated by the fact that many desirable waste items are widely available locally within Chembe, and although some of these reuse practices may be widespread within Malawi, others have been uniquely fostered by Chembe’s position as an affluent tourism destination with abundant and easily accessible waste streams. This investigation is particularly important within the context of rural Africa, and the Global South more broadly. Moreover, it should critically inform circular economy, zero waste, and broader waste management studies discourse, where African households have been habitually treated as problems needing solutions, rather than potential sources of innovation and learning

Business · Destinations · Economic growth · Economics · Environmental planning · Ethnography · Geography · Multitude · Political science · Reuse · Sociology · Sustainability · Tourism · Waste management · Engineering · Food Waste Reduction and Sustainability · Innovation and Socioeconomic Development · Municipal Solid Waste Management · Ecology