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Zero Waste––Zero Justice?
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This critical essay examines the zero waste movement through a social justice lens, asking whose voices and realities are centered in anti-plastic activism and whose are marginalized. It argues that reducing plastic pollution must address systemic inequalities as well as individual consumption choices.
Plastic is slowly covering the earth, accumulating in oceans, soil, air, and human and non-human bodies. In the face of this catastrophe, zero waste activists call upon us for action, detailing, how we, too, can change our lifestyle to eliminate plastic waste and save the planet. Yet, who it is that is called upon, who speaks, and whose voices and lived realities might be ignored? In this contribution, we explore the social politics of the zero waste movement. This leads us to ponder: might popular environmental movements that relegate social justice to the back seat ultimately do more harm than good?
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.