Reframing Agency in the Face of Global Challenges

The Problem of Plastic Waste

Authors

  • Tatiana Bajuk Senčar ZRC SAZU, Institute of Slovenian Ethnology, Novi trg 2, 1000 Ljubljana

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3986/Traditio2020490102

Keywords:

waste crisis, plastic waste, agency, miasma, circular economy, plastic-free stores, Slovenia

Abstract

This article is a discussion of the issue of agency in an age defined by common challenges that manifest themselves both locally and globally. In particular, the author argues for a dispersed, non-linear understanding of individual agency as it relates to the global crisis of plastic waste as a way of examining and assessing strategies of change.

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References

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Published

02.10.2020

How to Cite

Bajuk Senčar, T. (2020). Reframing Agency in the Face of Global Challenges: The Problem of Plastic Waste. Traditiones, 49(1), 37–53. https://doi.org/10.3986/Traditio2020490102

Issue

Section

Transforming sustainability / Preobrazba trajnostnega razvoja