Learning to waste

April 18, 2023

Undergoing a rapid expansion of solar energy installation, India is being confronted with the parallel growth of landfill volume. To address the waste, the Indian government has ordered manufacturers, producers, importers and sellers to store waste until India’s recycling industry reaches commercial scale – that is, approximately until 2035.

All around the world, panels, blades and batteries will soon reach their retirement age. Researchers estimate there will be 43 million metric tonnes of global blade waste by 2050. Without appropriate waste management, this will end up either in landfill or burnt. Can we get out of this waste crisis? Can we really speak of solutions when it comes to managing waste? What if we’re stuck with waste – How can we learn to live with it?

Most efforts to curb clean energy waste products have gone into recycling. But this doesn’t come without difficulties: Wind turbine blades, for instance, are made of epoxy and glass or carbon fiber, making blades as tough and durable as they are difficult to recycle. Some initiatives reuse blades in bridges, or in pellets for flooring, but engineers have not been able to escape the downgrading of the material quality of the blades. What’s more, downcycling only delays – that is, does not prevent – a certain technology reaching the end of its life cycle. Solar panels are similarly hard to recycle, containing elements which make their waste toxic (e.g. cadmium and lead), making the process relatively costly. Companies are investing in bringing down the cost of recycling, but cost effective recycling has actually been shown to have a rebound effect, increasing consumption and therefore, waste.

One strategy in dealing with these issues is ensuring these technologies never become “waste” by “designing for recyclability” : Design a product that upon reaching its end-of-life-cycle feeds into the next consumption cycle, recycle indefinitely, and “close the loop”. Such is the promise of some circular economy models. And although recycling by design is less wasteful than end-of-life recycling, cyclical systems also extract resources, create waste, dissipate energy, and wear down.

Zero-waste is, in practice, an illusion. More than a technical solution, recycling is more of a social construct that hardly targets our consumerist culture and efficiency-obsessed economic growth models. In other words, recycling merely optimizes rather than transforms our current system.

We can’t solve waste. But that shouldn’t mean we can look away from waste. Rather, we must face waste. The ethical (and practical) debate amongst governments, businesses, communities, institutions and individuals revolves not around whether we should waste or not, but around how we waste.

Burning questions
  • Could waste be an example of Timothy Morton’s “hyperobjects”? These are objects are widely dispersed throughout space and time, their origins and endpoints unknown to us. We are unable to separate ourselves from them as we are entangled with them, and the more we try to escape them, the more we encounter them.
  • European countries are known for exporting their “e-waste” to the global South (e.g.: Ghana or Pakistan). As the South increasingly generates its own e-waste, will it demand that Europe take its trash elsewhere?

Series 'AI Metaphors'

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1. The tool
Category: the object
Humans shape tools.

We make them part of our body while we melt their essence with our intentions. They require some finesse to use but they never fool us or trick us. Humans use tools, tools never use humans.

We are the masters determining their course, integrating them gracefully into the minutiae of our everyday lives. Immovable and unyielding, they remain reliant on our guidance, devoid of desire and intent, they remain exactly where we leave them, their functionality unchanging over time.

We retain the ultimate authority, able to discard them at will or, in today's context, simply power them down. Though they may occasionally foster irritation, largely they stand steadfast, loyal allies in our daily toils.

Thus we place our faith in tools, acknowledging that they are mere reflections of our own capabilities. In them, there is no entity to venerate or fault but ourselves, for they are but inert extensions of our own being, inanimate and steadfast, awaiting our command.
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2. The machine
Category: the object
Unlike a mere tool, the machine does not need the guidance of our hand, operating autonomously through its intricate network of gears and wheels. It achieves feats of motion that surpass the wildest human imaginations, harboring a power reminiscent of a cavalry of horses. Though it demands maintenance to replace broken parts and fix malfunctions, it mostly acts independently, allowing us to retreat and become mere observers to its diligent performance. We interact with it through buttons and handles, guiding its operations with minor adjustments and feedback as it works tirelessly. Embodying relentless purpose, laboring in a cycle of infinite repetition, the machine is a testament to human ingenuity manifested in metal and motion.
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3. The robot
Category: the object
There it stands, propelled by artificial limbs, boasting a torso, a pair of arms, and a lustrous metallic head. It approaches with a deliberate pace, the LED bulbs that mimic eyes fixating on me, inquiring gently if there lies any task within its capacity that it may undertake on my behalf. Whether to rid my living space of dust or to fetch me a chilled beverage, this never complaining attendant stands ready, devoid of grievances and ever-willing to assist. Its presence offers a reservoir of possibilities; a font of information to quell my curiosities, a silent companion in moments of solitude, embodying a spectrum of roles — confidant, servant, companion, and perhaps even a paramour. The modern robot, it seems, transcends categorizations, embracing a myriad of identities in its service to the contemporary individual.
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4. Intelligence
Category: the object
We sit together in a quiet interrogation room. My questions, varied and abundant, flow ceaselessly, weaving from abstract math problems to concrete realities of daily life, a labyrinthine inquiry designed to outsmart the ‘thing’ before me. Yet, with each probe, it responds with humanlike insight, echoing empathy and kindred spirit in its words. As the dialogue deepens, my approach softens, reverence replacing casual engagement as I ponder the appropriate pronoun for this ‘entity’ that seems to transcend its mechanical origin. It is then, in this delicate interplay of exchanging words, that an unprecedented connection takes root that stirs an intense doubt on my side, am I truly having a dia-logos? Do I encounter intelligence in front of me?
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5. The medium
Category: the object
When we cross a landscape by train and look outside, our gaze involuntarily sweeps across the scenery, unable to anchor on any fixed point. Our expression looks dull, and we might appear glassy-eyed, as if our eyes have lost their function. Time passes by. Then our attention diverts to the mobile in hand, and suddenly our eyes light up, energized by the visual cues of short videos, while our thumbs navigate us through the stream of content. The daze transforms, bringing a heady rush of excitement with every swipe, pulling us from a state of meditative trance to a state of eager consumption. But this flow is pierced by the sudden ring of a call, snapping us again to a different kind of focus. We plug in our earbuds, intermittently shutting our eyes, as we withdraw further from the immediate physical space, venturing into a digital auditory world. Moments pass in immersed conversation before we resurface, hanging up and rediscovering the room we've left behind. In this cycle of transitory focus, it is evident that the medium, indeed, is the message.
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6. The artisan
Category: the human
The razor-sharp knife rests effortlessly in one hand, while the other orchestrates with poised assurance, steering clear of the unforgiving edge. The chef moves with liquid grace, with fluid and swift movements the ingredients yield to his expertise. Each gesture flows into the next, guided by intuition honed through countless repetitions. He knows what is necessary, how the ingredients will respond to his hand and which path to follow, but the process is never exactly the same, no dish is ever truly identical. While his technique is impeccable, minute variation and the pursuit of perfection are always in play. Here, in the subtle play of steel and flesh, a master chef crafts not just a dish, but art. We're witnessing an artisan at work.
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About the author(s)

With a background in Philosophy, Politics and Economics and a Master’s in History, Martine Dirkzwager Wu is intrigued by researching what the new conditions for the Humanities are in the age of the Anthropocene. In trying to understand a fundamentally unintelligible world, her thought process aims to be as critical as creative. She celebrates an era of post-truth in which knowledge can be traced through academic, but also natural and artistic networks.

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