Consumers as Workers in Economies of Waste

Abstract

This chapter develops the analytical approach underpinning our contention that consumers in England and Sweden perform a key role in the division of labour of waste management and our interpretation of recycling as a form of unpaid work. We introduce the notion of consumption work as a more general concept for recognising the work of consumers as a significant and growing field. And we propose a conceptual framework for understanding such work as an integral part of the division of labour which rests on reformulation and expansion of traditional approaches. The labour associated with consumption is not new, but it has been rapidly expanding in recent years as a consequence of socio-economic change and technical innovation. The requirement to sort and recycle household waste, introduced by national and local states, represents one instance of such developments. We are all familiar with self-service in supermarkets, with online checking-in and with self-assembly equipment. Not only is an increasing range of tasks transferred from producers and retailers to consumers, but emergent forms of leisure activity, travel arrangements, financial management that are often Internet dependent introduce new kinds of work for consumers that were previously unknown. Few goods or services are delivered ‘complete’ to consumers in the sense that they are ready for use without further activity.