Contested Worldings of E-Waste Environmental Justice: Nonhuman Agency and E-Waste Scalvaging in Guiyu, China. Issue 7 (10th November 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Wang, Kun; Qian, Junxi; He, Shenjing
• Is Part Of: Annals of the American Association of Geographers. Volume 111:Issue 7(2021)
• Page Start: 2165
• Page End: 2184
• Publication Date: 2021-11-10
• Subjects: actor-network theory -- capability environmental justice -- distributional environmental justice -- e-waste -- nonhuman agency; 行动者网络理论、能力环境公正、分布式环境公正、电子废弃物、非人因素。; agencia no humana -- capacidad -- e-basura -- justicia ambiental distributiva -- teoría del actor-red; Geography -- Periodicals; Environmental sciences -- Periodicals; Geography; Electronic journals; Periodicals; 550
• DOI: Https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/24694452.2021.1889353
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2469-4452

Abstract

Abstract : Current environmental justice (EJ) research is moving beyond the distributional paradigm to embrace frameworks that emphasize the plurality of EJs. This study proposes that actor-network theory (ANT), which foregrounds nonhuman agency and heterogeneous associations, holds great potential for pushing forward this research agenda. It presents an ANT-informed analysis of the plural epistemologies of EJ by focusing on a global e-waste scalvaging hub—Guiyu in China. E-waste is considered a fluid and emergent material actant. The multiplicity of e-waste materialities coconstitutes the disparate worldings of EJ, with a wide range of actors involved in the knowledge-making practices. Disparate EJ realities concerning e-waste scalvaging have been worlded and enacted through the heterogeneous associations among numerous nonhuman actors, including discarded electronic devices, environmental conditions, pollutants, toxic substances, artifacts, discourses, tools and techniques, and a variety of human stakeholders, ranging from nongovernmental organizations, media, and academics to local scalvagers relying on e-waste for livelihood and wealth. In tracing these heterogeneous associations, this study juxtaposes two competing EJ worldings related to the ontological indeterminacy of e-waste. It first problematizes the worlding of North-to-South dumping that not only mispresents the complex geographies of e-waste, but also epitomizes a simplified distributional model of EJ.Then it ventures to theorize an often-neglected and underresearched dimension: EJ as situated capabilities and functionings concerned by the local community. This study thus adds to ongoing efforts to advance pluralist epistemologies of EJ.