From Presence to Absence: A Phenomenology of Discarding in the Private Sphere

This paper presents a phenomenological analysis of discarding in the private sphere. I argue that neither perceived deterioration nor the designation of an object as trash constitutes the essential structure of discarding. What is essential is the apprehension of a negative relation between materiality and the order of the private sphere – a relation that initiates the value judgement that an object becomes to-be-discarded and culminates in expulsion. The analysis identifies three essential elements of the experience of discarding in the private sphere, but also accounts for two key moments: prevention and habitualization. Things, within the context of waste are under constant valuation. Trash, within the private sphere, is ultimately “experienced” as an absence formed around an expectation of cleanliness that is enforced by habitualized rituals of cleaning.