Consumption and waste: A study on waste collectors in social reality rendering actions

Since the 19th century, the development of a consumer society with industrialization and the accompanying urbanization has led to a rapid increase in the amount of garbage produced, and this increase has led to the development of solid waste systems since the middle of the century. Towards the end of the 20th century, in solid waste services, garbage began to be seen as a commodity that could be recovered and had an exchange value, an industrial raw material, rather than as worthless outputs that were removed from people's living spaces, and with this change in approach, objects that were considered garbage began to be called waste. As every economic development has a political and social reflection, the fact that what is left over from consumption becomes an economic value, a product with exchange value in the market, inevitably has a counterpart in political and social life. Based on this understanding, this study follows an exploratory research approach using the ethnography method in order to read the economic and social lives of waste pickers in Gaziantep, who make their living through the informal sale of waste, and the consumption behaviors of the city through the experiences of waste pickers. Using participant observation and in-depth interviews with 14 waste pickers, the study found that although waste picking offers a way of life surrounded by social and economic poverty, precariousness, uncertainty, or being labeled as dangerous, it is not only the last option for economic gain, but also a conscious choice.