School of Social & Political Sciences

This project investigates the growing problem of waste in cities. It zooms in on the social and political dimensions of waste by developing an urban view of waste, capturing both the local and global urban dimensions of waste generation, handling and potential avoidance. It draws on interdisciplinary urban methods and theories to contribute to knowledge on more just and sustainable ways to deal with waste in urban areas. Empirically, the project compares waste in Glasgow and Mexico City, two different cities but which both have high waste production as well as promising activities and policies around the circular economy. Locally, the project captures waste handling within urban collective life, as part of social, political and natural processes constituting the city. Globally, it compares these local practices and policies between different urban contexts and places them within the uneven global political economy of waste. The project thus connects diverse and novel local responses to the growing problem of waste to the uneven dimensions of the global urban system.

Duration: 1 September 2025 - 1 September 2027

Funder: European Union Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions