Caretakers as mediators in household waste separation

ABSTRACT

This article explores the role of building caretakers in waste handling and in the application of source separation schemes. The topic is approached through the concept of mediators (or intermediaries). It is discussed with reference to both transition theory and ANT how mediators must be perceived in terms of not only transition agents, instigating change, but also in terms of stabilization, local embedding and maintenance of (relatively) stable socio-technical configurations. Based on mainly qualitative studies, the waste mediating role of caretakers’ work is explored and it is demonstrated how caretakers through a constant flow of interventions seek to maintain the stability of their buildings, i.e. the stability of the buildings’ flux of people and materials. As part of their continuous effort to keep their buildings’ infrastructures functional and keep their communal and recreational spaces as pleasant as possible, they take steps to integrate source separation into the flow of the building’s daily operations, making sure that it runs smoothly, yet also seeking to optimize the quality of source separation.

KEYWORDS:

• Caretakers
• mediators
• intermediaries
• ANT
• source separation

Acknowledgements

The author wants to express his gratitude to student assistants Tilde Nikoline Bernth Kristiansen, Pernille Bank Friis, Pernille Larsen and Marie Rementorp, without whom the empirical research would never have been completed. The cooperation with Tina Winberg and Martin Tilsted from Copenhagen Municipality was also very valuable and based on an exemplary respect for scientific integrity. Last but not least, the author wants to thank all the anonymized respondents and the organizations who helped find them.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by DCE - Danish Centre for Environment and Energy, The Municipality of Copenhagen, and the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under [grant agreement nimber 689229]; Horizon 2020 Framework Programme.

Notes on contributors

Lars Kjerulf Petersen

Lars Kjerulf Petersen is a senior scientist in environmental sociology and conducts research in a broad range of issues pertaining to environment and society including household energy prosumption, household waste handling, pro-environmental practice changes and media’s role in such changes plus urban green structure, siting conflicts and human perceptions of and interaction with nature and landscape.