Politics, science and the production of waste

This introduction offers a critical approach to waste, considered as a central object for thinking about capitalism, its expansionism, and its social, political and ecological effects. The authors explore its production (including by the social sciences) and the mechanisms that organize its treatment, control, abandonment or commercialization. The tensions between innovation and obsolescence, attachment and separation are examined. Finally, while waste is blurring many boundaries, the usefulness of certain analytical limits is highlighted.