Solid Waste Valorization and the Challenge of Social Representations in Ganvié, Benin

Ganvié, a historic lacustrine settlement in southern Benin, faces growing environmental and public health challenges due to inadequate solid waste management. This article explores how local social representations of waste influence both the practices of disposal and emerging valorization strategies within this aquatic urban space. Drawing on qualitative fieldwork including interviews, participant observation, and discourse analysis this study highlights the ambivalent perceptions of waste among residents, shaped by historical, symbolic, and material factors. While plastic and synthetic materials are often perceived as invasive and harmful, organic and fishing-related wastes are more easily reintegrated into domestic or agricultural uses. At the same time, longstanding beliefs in the lake’s natural ability to absorb and regenerate waste persist, despite increasing evidence of pollution and environmental degradation. External initiatives aimed at improving waste management frequently encounter resistance or indifference when they fail to account for these cultural logics or local constraints. However, hybrid practices are emerging at the intersection of tradition, innovation, and necessity. This research contributes to the understanding of waste not merely as a material problem but as a social object, embedded in power relations, cultural meanings, and environmental imaginaries. It calls for an integrated and culturally sensitive approach to waste governance in complex urban-rural and aquatic contexts.