Creating careful circularities: Community composting in New York City
Citation:
Morrow, O., and DAVIES, A.R., Creating careful circularities: Community composting in New York City, Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 2022, 47, 2, 529 - 546Download Item:
Abstract:
While matters of food waste and soil have become vital research arenas, compost
remains the Cinderella of human geographical enquiry. In response, this paper
brings compost to the centre of debates at the intersection of diverse economies
and circular economy. In particular, the concept of community composting and
the care involved in such practices is used to offset and problematise the techno-
scientific bias in circular economy discourses. Extending feminist perspectives on
care in soil studies, this paper focuses on the careful circularities that are realised
through community composting in New York City. This case study provides not
only a material space for examining community composting but also a unique
opportunity to consider the colliding worlds of worth that operate in and around
urban sustainability transitions to zero waste. Drawing empirical insights from
interviews, participant observation, and document analysis, this paper argues for
a sensitisation of circular economy policy and research to matters of care and di-
verse economies as a means to better understand motivations, justifications, and
outcomes of efforts to reorient food systems onto more sustainable pathways. We
argue that privileging care in this way helps to shift focus away from dominant
narratives of "scaling-up" towards sustainability to a more relational perspective
that sees transformation in connecting, deepening, and even scaling-down. This
means attending to the micro as well as macro transformations needed to enact
the required sustainability transitions.
Sponsor
Grant Number
European Research Council (ERC)
646883
Author's Homepage:
http://people.tcd.ie/daviesaDescription:
PUBLISHED
Author: Davies, Anna
Type of material:
Journal ArticleCollections
Series/Report no:
Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers;47;
2;
Availability:
Full text availableKeywords:
Care, Circular economy, Community composting, Diverse economies, New York CitySubject (TCD):
Smart & Sustainable Planet , SUSTAINABILITY , sustainability transitions , urban sustainabilityDOI:
10.1111/tran.12523Metadata
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