Disposal Practices, Waste Geographies, and Upcycling: Solid Waste Management in Cebu

Abstract

On the basis of a qualitative research design, this thesis is concerned with how narratives of modernization affect the ways of people perceiving and managing solid waste in Metro Cebu, the Philippines. Following the transformation of the meanings of waste, I analyze how waste becomes disposed and dispersed over the urban geography of Metro Cebu as well as how initiatives intend to restructure people’s habits by the ritualization of waste practices. Building on ideas of modernization and citizenship, I argue that the current situation of waste relates to how people try to maintain cleanliness and avoid defilement by performances of being “good citizens”. Furthermore, people’s everyday experiences reveal how environmental inequalities relate to social inequalities.