Whose Waste Is It Anyway?

Abstract

This paper argues that the ideas of self, waste and space are interconnected and that they influence each other in a society's everyday life. It addresses the issues of belonging and identity to explain how the connection among self, waste and space could determine waste disposal practice. A study in a low-income urban neighbourhood in Jakarta, Indonesia, illustrates how the waste disposal practice in everyday life could be understood in terms of how they are connected to the actors and to the space. The connection among self, waste and space is illustrated through various waste disposal practices in spaces with various degrees of ownership. Waste disposal practices in shared spaces are particularly problematic since these practices occur in the spaces with unclear ownership and unclear boundaries. The findings suggest the need to take into account the understanding of ownership towards waste (‘whose waste?’) as a key aspect in comprehending waste disposal practice in the urban context.