Where the Trash Goes - and Who It Hurts: Exploring landfilling in South Carolina, the United States, and beyond

In this episode of The Environmental Justice Lab, I break down the findings from my latest research publication, entitied “Race, Class, Gender, and Waste: A Spatial Analysis of Landfill Siting and Intersectional Inequities in South Carolina.” This article is not simply a data-driven study; it is an investigation into how race, gender, income, and geography intersect to determine who ends up living next to the landfills in South Carolina… and who doesn’t. I explain why landfills are still important in today’s environmental justice movement. I talk about the history of waste-related activism, and discuss how communities, particularly Black women, Hispanic women, and female-led households in poverty, are disproportionately burdened by the health, environmental, and social harms of landfill placement.

The episode goes beyond statistics. It’s a reflection on the academic resistance to justice-focused research in engineering, an ode to cross-institutional collaboration, and a rallying cry for policy change, intersectional thinking, and true community engagement.

🎧 Tune in now to hear why it’s time we rethink how we manage our waste, and who bears the cost.

Resources: 

Race, Class, Gender, and Waste: A Spatial Analysis of Landfill Siting and Intersectional Inequities in South Carolina - Environmental Sociology

Toxic Waste and Race in the United States - Full Report

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