Household Plastic Waste Management and Gender Dynamics in Circular Economies

Abstract

A circular economy has emerged as a promising solution for addressing plastic pollution. It directly impacts waste management practices in the household, which has long been considered a feminized domain. What are the hidden gendered costs of household plastic waste management? This paper systematically reviews extant knowledge on household plastic management in sociology and cognate disciplines. Noting the inadequate attention to gender in the current literature, we set out two research agendas. Firstly, we propose that research focus on the household as a site where the gender division of labour may be rigidified or reconfigured through household plastic consumption and waste management. Secondly, plastics research needs to attend to the multiple and overlapping social roles that women play within and beyond the household. Remaining sensitive to how women interact with plastic materials in their daily lives will encourage integrating feminist analysis into environmental analysis so as to work through the challenges posed by a circular economy.