RECYCLING TIME - THE TEMPORAL COMPLEXITY OF WASTE MANAGEMENT

In this article we discuss the possible impact of emphasizing the temp oral dimension of 'waste' on the conceptualization of waste management in late modem societies. Beginning with an analysis of a dominant dis cursive formation of waste management, we argue that a lack of concern for the temporal aspects of waste has led to a misconceptualization o f the waste problematic. Bringing the temporal to the fore allows Its to see waste differently, not as something that is to be shed, but as something that will always be with us, as that which we cannot get rid of, as that which is inherently unmanageable. We therefore propose a conceptualization of waste that involves much longer time-scales than those commonly applied to decision-making practices, a more differenti ated sensitivity towards tempo and rhythm, and a more complex understa nding of the timescapes of the future.